I haven’t been sleeping well lately. In some cultures, insomnia is a result of a jumbled conscience. Maybe I have a constipated consciousness right now. As I was lying awake this morning I started thinking about…kindness. Again, maybe I was unconsciously trying to piece together my lack of kindness by ruminating on it at 5 AM. Who knows.
We don’t have enough kindness today. It’s not the purview of Democrats or Republicans, Christians or Muslims, it’s a human trait that we just don’t practice enough. I really believe it is one of the things that makes us human. You don’t see Giraffes opening the door for each other or orangutans helping each other down the stairs. Sure, some animals care for their young in what appears to be a kindly fashion, but I think most of that is instinctual. Humans can choose to be kind. We need to choose that more often.
It can be so simple. A smile, a touch, some reassuring words. Kindness doesn’t really take a lot of effort. Being mean or thoughtless actually burns way more mental energy.
I remember hearing a scientist tell a story of how a butterfly flapping its wings in Malaysia could influence, through a series of escalating events, the formation of a massive storm on our west coast. I suspect that like that, a single act of kindness could change the world. Who is to say. Literature is filled with stories of kindness that changed lives and in turn, changed history.
The smile you give today may be the trigger that changes tomorrow…for all of us…and for the better.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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