I hope your day is off to a great start. Would you do me a favor and have a look into the mirror today. When you do, have a look straight into your own eyes and say 3 things you appreciate about yourself. This act of kindness could be the way you begin each day?
I wanted to write about kindness today because it is such a wonderful way to be in the world. If you watch the nightly news you would never know that people are kind to each other. If you are out in the world and interacting with others, you know kindness happens in unexpected places and ways. Kindness is a simple form of love. Kindness can grace you life in at least two ways.
The first way kindness can make your life richer is by being kind to others. Everyday there are opportunities for kindness. Add a little touch of love to what is going on by being kind to those you are working with. Kindness can come in the form of a compliment, an appreciation, a genuine concern or interest, really listening, a gesture, a gift of insight, a phone call to see how someone is doing, flowers or a poem and in many more ways. Kindness is always waiting inside as something intuitively you feel like doing. If you pay attention to what the heart wants to do, you will feel the urges to be kind, loving and compassionate.
The second way kindness enriches your life is when you are kind you feel the joy of that giving. So in being kind to others you are giving to yourself. With your simple acts of kindness your heart gives love to you too. The more you are comfortable spreading kindness, the better you will feel about who you are. Kindness is the gift that keeps on giving.
As I said above, kindness can be a very intuitively guided expression of caring and compassion. And it is ok to plan acts of kindness and to do so regularly. I have an experiment that I want you to try that will involve both the planning to be kind and the intuitive, in the moment, expression of kindness.
Make a plan to do 3 acts of kindness each day. Think of those in your life and what they would appreciate receiving. Let your inner sense guide you in the moment as to the way you will be kind. Feel the joy of giving in this way. If you are up to it, keep a journal of your acts of kindness and how you feel about yourself as you live in the world in a kind way. You could be focused on kindness for a week, through the upcoming holiday season, through a whole year. I invite you to pay particular attention to two things about this experiment. How does the world around your affected from your kindness project? How are you enriched by your giving?
Be kind and prosper.