Let's Hit Each Other with Kindness!

 

A few things have happened this week that remind me of the impact we can have as individuals on those around us. I think we all hope for a positive impact and yet reality says there are negative impacts all around us.

“Two wrongs don’t make a right.” Or “Take the high road.” My parents etched these concepts on my soul while I was growing up. It reminds me of a similar saying that came out of recent elections. Michelle Obama’s, “When they go low, we go high.”  When I saw the above meme come up this week, my brain warp speed processed all these sayings and the Golden Rule as well.

“You never really know the true impact you have on those around you.” We can’t know this unless we stopped every single person we smiled at or interacted with on a given day and asked them how they felt after the interaction. I made myself giggle writing that out. Talk about the height of narcissism.

I know that people I encounter certainly have an impact on my life. Good teachers, as well as bad teachers, contributed to my beliefs around education and my abilities. Fifty years later I still remember all my teacher’s names from grade and high school days. It seems in our early years of life that we are the recipients of kindness, and I certainly was blessed and filled with kindness from teachers, family, and my first employers.

As I moved into my teens and adulthood, I became aware that I was part of a larger community and if I wanted a kind world, I had to consciously recognize that interactions with others were impacted by my own behaviors.

As a result of my desire to look for silver linings and find the positive in others, I have been accused of being fake, of giving people enough rope to tie me to the chair, and of toxic positivity. Frankly, my dears, I don’t give a damn. My brain was hard wired to be kind and if there is a downside, I’ll take the good with the bad.

This last year has proven to me time and time again that most people have good hearts and are aware that an action as simple as a smile or an upbeat greeting makes a difference in spreading kindness. I reflect on how many people, people I hadn’t seen in years and in some cases for decades, made time in their lives for us during our travels.

I think of the Marco Polo videos my friend, Kim, sends me that even if life is stressful. She makes time to tell me about her week and I love seeing her face. I think of the Messenger Memes Ginger and Kim send me daily and all of Ginger’s funny comments on Facebook posts.

I think of the people who send me a note via text, a Facebook comment, or tell me in a conversation that they are thinking of me.  

I think of my friends like Jen and Elizabeth, they will reach out by phone or video chat to stay connected.

I think of a woman I volunteer with who greeted me with a hug this week for helping her with a sticky situation she was going through.

Which is why this move to Minnesota, away from my beloved extended family in California, has been emotionally easier for me than I anticipated.

The kindness of friends and strangers makes my life one of abundance.