Word-Of-the-Week #710: Kindness
March 15, 2018 by Susan Clarke
Kindness – the quality of being gentle, caring, and helpful.
How would you rate yourself on being caring and helpful? When was the last time you expressed kindness for a complete stranger? How did it make you feel?
We are on a roll now! It is so great to have these WOW’s trigger such wonderful responses. Mary S. wrote, “Thank you Susan! You have not wavered in your message and intent each week over all the years you have been doing your wonderful weekly email.
I will keep this short: Being gracious does not cost anyone anything, therefore, everyone can afford to be even more gracious than they already are (or hopefully are).
With the way today’s world is and the scary things that are happening between human beings, my strong belief is that if each one of us would do just one (or at least one) act of kindness or graciousness each day, this world would have less tragedy, less hate, less negativity.
So let’s start with one random act of kindness each day . . . and then we can double it to two! Now that is a WOW for all of us to get behind and it starts with being Gracious.
I will end as I began, Thank you Susan for all that you do to make this a better place to be!!”
And I think Mary’s on to something! Today’s paper featured “Woman hopes random acts of kindness start a movement” by Diane Bell.
“San Diego visitor Nahla Summers ran onto a train to give fruit and trail mix to a woman who had left her place in a food concession line because her train pulled in and she had to board. The stranger, surprised and delighted, said she would pass the favor forward.
The next day Summers spotted a homeless man rummaging through trash bins. She gave him her energy bar. Its label said “Kind.” That four-letter word symbolizes Summers’ mission. She traveled here from her home in England to San Diego to cycle across the United States with a rallying call for random acts of kindness.
Her trip to St. Augustine, Fla., is 3,055 miles. She hopes, by the time she gets there, those viewing her website and travel blog will have shared stories of at least 3,055 acts of kindness for strangers that were inspired by her journey. She left San Diego on March 3. When I caught up with her by phone on March 11, she had made it to Phoenix.
Summers had pedaled up mountains, crossed a desert and faced a grinding battle against punishing headwinds that made it seem like she was riding a stationary bike. At one point, she even lost her cycling shoes when they were left on top of her escort van. She discovered them on the ground about 60 yards down the road.
Nevertheless, the admittedly inexperienced cyclist remains committed to her cause. Kindness became the only meaning in her life after a sudden heart attack took the life of her longtime partner. First, she raised money for various charitable causes in his memory. “But since then I have realized the power of kindness, how invaluable it is, and how much it is worth more than money in every way. I wanted his memory to be around intangible acts of kindness.”
She tries not to let a single day go by without committing her own act of kindness because “kindness breeds kindness” and inspires future generations to support one another in the community.”
She has a website and a Facebook page that documents her cycling progress.
This week’s focus is on kindness. When was the last time you received a random act of kindness? How did it make you feel? Did it compel you to pay it forward with a random act of kindness? Did you know that February 17 is National Random Acts of Kindness Day?
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