Be Kind

What can everyone in the world give that cost nothing AND can change the world for the better?

The only answer is kindness. The best gift that a person can give is kindness. We are all struggling in some way, whether we admit it or not. Many who we believe are happy because of wealth or money still face their own struggles. A simple gesture, act or kind words can literally save a day, and at times a life. Kindness is something that cannot be faked. It takes authenticity for kindness to make a meaningful impact. You have to be willing to take time and effort to give kindness to others, with no expectations of returns.

Be kind. This simple concept is hard today. Everything we see, hear or share is negative. We're surrounded with so much negative noise leaving us often overwhelmed. There's a market to monetize negativity and drive fear on both side of the aisle. It is very easy to lose yourself and sacrifice your self-respect to earn money by joining one side and add to the mayhem. Social media loves anything the opposite of kindness. The internet brings about the worst version of everyone, especially on platforms like Twitter where people are anonymous. There's no accountability or consequences for spreading hate, lies and negativity by the keyboard warriors. Before social media, you saw it on forums or comments. Today, you see the same but using different technologies. Hate is easy. It is convenient. Hate also can make anyone good coin because there's always plenty of people willing to join you. Polarization and extremism in all aspects of life, especially politics have amped up the tension and sadly decreased the amount of meaningful interactions we have with each other. Sadly, kindness gets lost in all of it. A casualty of the modern digital world. Nobody cares about anyone anymore. Everyone just cares about winning at all cost, going viral for standing up for their mobs. People think kindness have no rewards. Boy are they wrong!

During our visit to Portugal, we decided to take the train to Sintra from Lisbon. We read about the traveling by train, and everyone's account of it. We set out knowing what need to do. However, all plans have surprises. We were fine with the subway. Then we had to transfer over to a train that goes to Sintra. As this was our first time, we were going very slowly. We were traveling with 2 kids during rush hour in Lisbon. Randomly, an old man who I assume was on his way to work stopped and asked us if we needed help. Slightly embarrassed, I said we were OK. His experience sensed that I was lying. His English was poor but for the next 5-6 minutes, he help navigate us as far as he could to the right train terminal. I am confident he would have gone further had he not had to pay again or lose too much time. He led us 90% there, and bid us a good day. I saw him backtrack as we were going the opposite way. We found our train and our trip went well - thanks to this man. I will never know his name, or what he does. However, I will always remember his random act of kindness. No doubt he went out of his way. He recognized a family of 4, likely tourist and looking lost and empathized with our situation. He went out of his way to spend 5-10 minutes to help us out. I am grateful. My pride got in the way by not asking for help. He knew better and insisted. Your kindness will be remembered. This man will never know how grateful I am. However, just know I pay it forward by being kind in return as I go on with my days.

So what is kindness? What does it mean to be kind?

Kindness is an act that shows you truly care about another person no matter their situation or status without expecting anything in return or without judgement. It's a selfless act aligning with your authentic self towards another person, either family, friend or stranger. It can be small. It can be short in duration. It is impactful and meaningful. It can be as small as holding a door for another person who has their hands full. It can be a sincere "thank you" or showing appreciation towards someone who's helped you. Sometimes, it's just listening to someone who needs to get something off their chest without judgement. It can be just showing up for a few minutes to provide support.

Kindness is simple.

Kindness is easy.

Kindness is free.

If it is all of this, why is it we don't see enough being shared or championed daily across our lives? Think of your interactions with other people and how many acts of kindness you received daily. How many did you give. How many did you observe? Who in your circle do you deem to be kind? Do you think yourself as a kind person?

Being sympathetic or showing empathy or being compassionate to others will not make you cool or increase your followers by the thousands. It will however make you a kind person. A person that can make an impact at the individual level, whether you know it or not. A person that real people in the real world are attracted to, respect, and find hard to dislike. A person that will eventually lead by example, and help spread the good to others. A person that will find happiness in their lives regardless of what others think of them. More importantly, a person the world needs more than ever

I truly believe our world only improves with an abundance of kindness. It can spread like wildfire if people practice kindness daily. Like anything else, it takes practice. Then once you start doing small acts of kindness, you begin to see it or recognize it everywhere. It spreads and has a ripple effect in the people around you. You may never know it, but small acts can become defining moments in other peoples lives. These actions begin to compound. You start impacting people's days or moods. You never know the true impact of your act of kindness. It doesn't matter because it impacts YOU in a positive manner and improves your mental clarity and happiness. Being kind then just becomes a part of who you are. At times, people will just expect you to do things for them or may take advantage of your kindness. Don't let that detract you. Be aware and resolve the problems. However, stay the course.

Kindness always win. There are no drawbacks for being kind.

In a world that rewards hate, fear and negative engagements with extreme polarization, it's too easy to conform and add to the chaos. Choose to be different.

Be kind. You'll be surprised at how much farther it'll get you in life. In the end, you will not be judged by how much money you have, or how many followers you have on Twitter, IG or Tik Tok, or not even how many places you've traveled. You will be judged by how well you treated the people around you every day, especially people who had nothing to offer you. Lead with kindness. You don't know the challenges people are facing daily.

Kindness matters every day. If you can't find kindness around you, be the spark and be a kind person. See the beauty it can bring about your world.