It is so important to be kind to others. Being kind can be acted out in all different types of ways. Maybe, your way of being kind is complimenting people. Another could be listening or giving advice. It could also be talking to a person that is often bullied or unliked by others. It’s making people feel good and valuing life. The list goes on & it is actually quite easy to choose to be kind. It’s also beautiful to see kindness flowing around. It kinda gives you that moment where your heart skips a beat and you lose your voice a bit. It can bring tears to your eyes because of the pure kindness and generosity in some people out there. Moments like these, I treasure them.
One thing I really used to struggle with was being kind to people that were not so kind, or often especially rude to me. How do you promote kindness to someone who is hurting you? Do they deserve kindness? Well, my answer to that is– yes. They do. With this being said I want to make it very clear that in no way am I saying to be a doormat. I am not advocating abuse or mistreatment or not speaking your truth when needed. There are times when you must be stern in order to help others understand and to better set boundaries in your life. Never should you sit back and allow mistreatment or settle for anything less than you deserve. But, for example, if someone calls you a name; I’ve seen so many people go belligerent and act a fool because of a simple word that offended them. Especially over the internet. So many things can be taken out of context and so many things may not even be meant in the way that we are interpreting them. Even if they are meant in a rude way, we have a choice to TEACH instead of bash or degrade back. Spreading more hate & negativity back on to a situation will help no one. It only continues the cycle and perpetuates more conflict and negativity. It can also ruin your day if you decide to go off on someone. It can fuck with your energies so that you might be taking everything else wrong that day or taking your anger out on someone who may not deserve it.
Here’s two points I would like you to consider. The first is: Is this person worth you lowering yourself and creating negativity in and around you? It’s never worth it. The second is…What if you could set a boundary with this person on how you wish to be treated and then say a few kind words to hopefully encourage them to be kind? This would then, promote kindness and you would be giving this person an opportunity to make a choice. Who knows; it may turn their day around.
Often times, people have bad days. They may not realize how rude they are being to you. The truth is some people are fighting battles and we may have no idea what they are actually going through.
Overall, do this for yourself. Don’t let someone else allow you to have hatred and negativity. Don’t continue spreading it just because others do. Also, do not ever let rude people define who you are. They have no say in what you decide for your life or in the way you define yourself.
Kindness is beautifully amazing and absolutely a badass move to make.
I learned kindness from my mother. She is one of the most kind people I have ever met. She taught me to treat others with respect and love. She is an amazing person and if she can spread so much love and kindness into my life, I can’t imagine what it would do to just spread a little here and there.
Kindness is yet another form of love that spreads like wildfire- effecting everything it touches.
Choose kindness
-Shauna
Related Books:
Ideas and Advice for How To Live a Joyful and Empowered Life. 
Not tooting my own horn but years ago as a crossing guard I noticed children going to school without hats, gloves or scarves. It was a bitter Winter and in fact the children had recess in the gym as it was too cold to be outside. I hit up all the thrift stores and bought as many hats, gloves and scarves I could find. I told the kids they could take what they needed. When people saw what I was doing some donated or gave me money to buy more. One woman stopped by and started yelling at me telling me how I was encouraging these children to take handouts and it was the parent’s responsibility. I took a deep breath and told her that maybe it was the parent’s responsibility but if for whatever reason it wasn’t done then someone had to do something. After all it takes a village to raise a child. Years later I met a young lady who I had crossed that winter. She had taken a pair of gloves. She asked me if I knew the crossing lady she was trying to find her to thank her for the gloves she had gotten for her Mother. I smiled and said I will tell her when I see her but I think she already knows how thankful you are.
Years later I had an opportunity to visit the school. There were boxes full of hats, gloves, and scarves. An adult would make sure the kids had hats, gloves and scarves before leaving school. The best thing about kindness is that it snowballs. 🙂
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I love this!! Thank-you for sharing!!
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