The Power of Kind

"Kill them with kindness"
You've heard it before.
My parents would use that phrase when my brother
and I were dealing with people that thrived on mean.

You know those people too.
I've never understood that.
What joy can be achieved through mean?




I watch it every day...
People laugh at the pain of others- on TV and in real life.
They trip each other (literally and figuratively) and claim that they're friends.
Sure kids/teens might be more literal in their tripping, but adults do it too.
They set each other up to watch them squirm and eventually fail so that they can move ahead.
When did this happen?

My students have commented that I smile
and that I'm a nice, happy, positive person.
Good.
I'm glad that they see that, because I have to work
really hard at it every single day.
Sure some days are easier than others.
I'm really happy on a Saturday morning!

But I worry that people have forgotten the power of kind.
It is powerful.
It part of being joyful.
You need kindness in your world to maintain joy.
I can tell when my joy is being sucked away...
I can feel it like a cold seeping in.
My jaw tightens,
My shoulders scrunch up,
My sparkle fades,
and I have to fight against it.

It is a battle.
I just hope that society hasn't and won't surrendered yet.
Some days I worry that it has...
today was a day I worried about that.
I saw too much mean.
Rarely did I see kindness...
But that's just it...
I DID see kindness and it gives me hope.



I saw:
The swift, superhero speed movements
of one of my students to catch a falling table so that it wouldn't hurt another.




A hug to a crying friend.

A basketball team rally a win after losing every. single. other. game.

I saw friends, parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents cheering from the bleachers. Win or lose, they cheer, clap, give thumbs-up to their teams. They don't have to be there...but they are.

When you feel down, look for the joy.
Practice kindness.
It's a powerful force.
I believe it can change the world.
Wouldn't the world be a better place if we all practiced kindness every day?
I sure do.
Won't you join me?
Together we'll practice kindness and maybe,
just maybe,
we can change the world.

Hugs,
Lori