I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of negative news stories. I just survived the U.S. midterm elections. In my nearly 50 years on the planet, I have never seen a more contentious, vile, and downright ugly election season. I’m ready for something uplifting. How about you? November 13 is World Kindness Day. What if we set our differences (political or otherwise) aside and focus on kindness for a while instead? I’m thinking we could make a bigger difference in our world by doing this than all the promises politicians have made in recent months.
I recently saw an estimate for how much money was spent on political ads. We’re talking billions of dollars spent tearing people down. My first thought on this is couldn’t we have found a better use for all those funds? How many people’s lives could have been improved dramatically with that money? Okay, enough about the election. I’m writing this on the election day, and it shows in my thoughts. Time to move onward and upward!
Kindness is Important
If you’ve visited this blog before, you may have noticed that kindness is a repeated theme for me. It is something I think about often, try to practice in my daily life, and write about with regularity. In September, I wrote about the International Day of Charity and listed 101 ways to be kind. In 2017, I wrote about how being kind takes courage. You can read that post here. In my profession, working with young students, I try to promote kindness in the classroom and on the school yard. In my home, I try to be kind, even while living with teenagers. Kindness is important to me. The world we live in shows too little kindness. I want to improve that.
Sorry, but I’m returning to the elections for one more minute. Can you imagine what they would be like if more people practiced kindness? The hate-filled ads on television wouldn’t exist. The nastiness of political rallies would turn into positive, uplifting speeches about what we can do instead of what our opponents can’t do. How could our lives, our communities, and our world be improved if we all regularly practiced kindness?
That’s why there is a World Kindness Day. Because the world is in dire need of more kindness. And it starts with each individual person. Are you ready to celebrate kindness? Do you know how? By practicing kindness, no matter what.
Five Ways to Celebrate Kindness
Here are five ways to celebrate World Kindness Day. If you want more ideas, be sure to look at my 101 ways to be kind list.
- Celebrate World Kindness Day by practicing random acts of kindness. This might sound like the opposite of random, but make a plan and carry it out. It could be you carry some extra quarters and feed some meters in your city. Or perhaps you look for someone on the morning bus or train who needs your seat more than you do. What I’m saying is that if you plan on the acts, you’ll be more likely to do them.
- Give Extra Hugs. Hug your kids. Hug your partner or spouse. If you run into a friend in the grocery store, give them a hug. Hugs are a great way to say “I care about you and you matter to me.” And hugs make you feel good too. It’s a win-win.
- Be a good neighbor. Bring in the trash cans from the curb. Wave hello and goodbye. Keep your dog’s barking to a minimum. Check out his post for more good neighbor ideas.
- Share on Social Media. There are some good reasons to criticize social media and it’s negative effects on our lives. How about we turn it into a force for good and kindness instead? Share kindness quotes, stories about kindness, and practice kindness in your interactions on social media. It’s really not that difficult to do.
- Be Kind to Yourself. So you’re not perfect. Welcome to the human race. Give yourself a break and let go of any perfectionism you’re holding on to. It’s okay to be human. We all mess up sometimes. Being kind to yourself is not only important, it’s necessary if you want to truly practice kindness.
8 Favorite Kindness Quotes
Need some more kindness inspiration? I love a good quote and there are loads and loads of great quotes about kindness. Here are eight of my favorites.
1. Remember this truth: We all struggle.
2. Please speak kind words.
3. Be wise and kind.
4. You can always choose to be kind, even if you don’t like someone.
5. A little less judgement, please.
6. A lesson from a classic fable
7. It’s true that we don’t have to agree in order to be kind.
8. Remember to taste your words before they leave your mouth
Some Final Thoughts
I started writing this post the day of the U.S. midterm elections. In the days since, the world has continued, in many ways, to be an unkind place. If you’ve watched the news, been on social media, or interacted with fellow humans, you have experienced it yourself. I have been the personal recipient of some of this unkind behavior this week. I’m sure everyone has. That is part of life.
But I have also been the recipient of kind words, thoughts, and deeds. And this is what I choose to focus on. Sometimes it’s not easy to do so. Sometimes I feel hurt and angry and my first reaction is to respond to hurtful words and actions with hurtful words and actions. That’s called being human. But it is also very human to be kind, giving, and helpful. We all get to choose how we respond to other people. I’m going to try to respond with more kindness, whether it’s World Kindness Day or not because I want to make my world a better place. How about you?
As always, thank you for reading. Please leave your thoughts and comments in the section provided below. A share or two on social media is very much appreciated.
