Waiting at a stoplight the other morning, I found myself face-to-face with a bumper sticker promoting kindness. I felt grateful for the reminder and I began thinking about what it really means to be kind…

Kindness lifts our spirits and inspires us. It connects us, and we believe in it so much that we go out of our way to teach young children to be kind to one another. Kindness is encouraging, it’s powerful and far-reaching. It has layers and context and manifests in so many different forms. And, although it’s difficult to define, we know how kindness feels and, ultimately, that seems important.

I believe kindness matters…a lot. And to fully honor it we’re asked to go beneath ideals and acknowledge how much awareness is required. Not just once in awhile, but ongoing throughout our lives. Being kind is a practice. And, although it may be easy to promote, we can likely agree how challenging it can be to embody sometimes. Our moods, our thoughts and beliefs, our life circumstances and experiences can get us caught up. We get self-righteous, impatient and we forget to be kind. Even with the best of intentions, sometimes we’re reactive and we think, say and do things that are hurtful.

Sometimes our hearts close and kindness becomes exclusive…It becomes something reserved for us not them. When I catch myself in this place, I’m reminded that more love is needed, not less. I start with loving myself…the one who is struggling to be kind…and I go from there.

This feels like the heart of the message I want to share with each other. The message that kindness is good and important and we should continue the practice. But it’s also hard sometimes and it takes courage. And right now, in this charged political climate, we need courage. Maybe we need to talk more about how to practice kindness when it doesn’t come easily…when we find ourselves challenged to show it. How can we keep our hearts open and go with kindness even when we disagree or feel anger or fear?

Because…let’s face it, we’re human. And it’s hard sometimes. And it’s messy. And it’s complex and emotional and raw and beautiful and we all have that in common.

And…yes…kindness matters.

xo