Kindness Matters

KINDNESS, n. {from kind, the adjective}

1. Good will; benevolence; that temper or disposition which delights in contributing to the happiness of others, which is exercised cheerfully, in gratifying their wishes, supplying their wants or alleviating their distresses; benignity of nature. Kindness ever accompanies love.

Noah Webster 1828

Let's think on Kindness for a moment.

Kindness is a noun with a verb hidden in it's core that the world simply needs to see, feel, touch, hear and taste more of. Perhaps the power within many nouns, people included, is that they exist to complete actions. Nouns are happiest, more fulfilled, and made whole by an act that transcends themselves and positively affects another, another noun who may not be able to repay the event but merely, use that momentum to send it forward.

Kindness is deliberate. It is easy to believe so many things in this world just "happen" as if by cosmic happenchance yet, to be kind to another or show kindness in a situation, is something we not only have to think about, marinate on and let soak in but, summon the inner momentum, fortitude, and courage to act on it. It is a choice.

Kindness is also contagious. It is a golden pocket watch with intricate craftsmanship etched with our names that we want to share with others, want to tell them the story about the time they were given something so precious, something deliberate and with their name right there etched permanently upon it. We want to share the fact that we mattered to another, that we were the recipient of something completely intended, that we are special and have a moment dedicated to just us by another. And the beauty is, within each person is that kindness seed, we are all carriers if you will, of that kindness contagion and have a story to spread.

Today is the annual "Kindness Party" on Twitter (4-6pm EST). I have been invited to help moderate by Phyllis Mufson (@phyllismufson) Read about it and the other participants HERE 

This is why it matter folks, and by it, I mean Kindness and by matters, I mean everyday, not just a designated time slot on a social media platform. Humanity loses something when we are unable to share a bit of who we are with another, we lose the momentum, that sacred spark, that beautiful orange glow that all embers have inside of them. Humanity has grown cold in a way, we are skeptical of what we hear, we distrust the motives behind what we read, we question the sales pitch knowing perhaps that we'd buy what they were saying if, we ourselves were not so bankrupt and threadbare. We look at the term "Free" and pray the hook doesn't hurt when we reach out to grab it. We want the hug but wonder if we'll be pick-pocketed in the process. Jaded is perhaps the most effective vaccination against spreading kindness and as a herd, it would seem that our immunizations are up to date.

The truth is, we need kindness more now. We need firsthand Kindness, not kindness by proxy. In an overly "connected" world, we have allowed ourselves to "disconnect" to that which is to be human, forgotten the feeling of what it is to reach out and hold another's hand simply because we can. Kindness enables. It enables us, humanity, to share a story, a story that someone else will get to tell about us. 

Be Deliberate. Be Engaged. Be Kind.

To my Twitter family, thank you. Kindness knows no time zones, no artificially set boundaries, no beginning or end... it is a constant stream that flows at a rate of about 140