Kindness: One Thing You Can Control

With everything going on in the world at the moment, many people are understandably scared and stressed. This can lead to unkind behaviors. It is important to remember that although things are uncertain and there is a lot of doom and gloom around which is out of our control, being kind to one another is something we can control. Looking out for each other is one thing that we can do to help - and should never forget.

What exactly does kindness mean? To me, kindness means many things and comes in many forms. For example, being respectful of other people is a key to kindness. This means not judging them for how they are different. This might be if they look differently to you, speak differently, have different abilities or think and act differently to you. Understanding that everyone is unique and who they are comes from much more than what meets the eye can help us understand what it means to respect others. Kindness is treating other people the way you would like to be treated. How you would like your mother or brother to be treated for example - that is a really nice way to just check in and make sure you are doing the right thing. Kindness is looking out for those who are less fortunate than you.

Many of us are very lucky to have so much, being kind to those with less or when someone is in need is one of the most selfless things we can do. Kindness can be something as simple as a smile or saying “thank you” to someone who is having a hard day, and sometimes this can make a huge difference. Kindness is infectious and if you can practice it all the time you will notice that people around you will start to do the same. There are so many ways to practice kindness and it all starts with you!

Be healthy. Be happy. Be Kind.