Saturday, March 6, 2010
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Thursday, March 4, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
KINDNESS
Monday, March 1, 2010
Kindness
I have been thinking a lot about kindness lately. As it so happens, I am thinking about it mostly because there have been a number of incidents where people have chosen to be unkind to me, or to someone I love.
It also happens that I have had my share of being unkind to someone else. Telemarketers. Unhelpful customer service people. Etc. You know, people who deserved it....right?
Wrong.
"Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not." ~Samuel Johnson
I know that we all have those days. The ones where everything that could possibly go wrong has. But no one else deserves to be punished for that. Just as we don't deserve to be treated rudely for the very same reason. It is a vicious cycle. One that we can all work on breaking.
You know that saying, kill them with kindness? Well, let's not try to kill people with kindness, just more like stun them with kindness. It's something I personally would like to work on. It can be very hard to do that, especially when someone else started it or was rude first (hmm this sounds kind of like elementary school all over again), but it is possible to be kind in the face of unkindness.
What we really need to remember is that we don't know what kind of life someone else has lived. We haven't walked in their shoes and we don't know what kind of experiences have led them to this point in their life. All we know is that we can, "Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are." ~Author Unknown
Along with that kindness, we need to try to be understanding.
"Make it a practice to judge persons and things in the most favorable light at all times and under all circumstances." ~Saint Vincent de Paul
There is enough unkindness in the world, so let's not contribute to it even more.
Kindness
I have been thinking a lot about kindness lately. As it so happens, I am thinking about it mostly because there have been a number of incidents where people have chosen to be unkind to me, or to someone I love.
It also happens that I have had my share of being unkind to someone else. Telemarketers. Unhelpful customer service people. Etc. You know, people who deserved it....right?
Wrong.
"Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not." ~Samuel Johnson
I know that we all have those days. The ones where everything that could possibly go wrong has. But no one else deserves to be punished for that. Just as we don't deserve to be treated rudely for the very same reason. It is a vicious cycle. One that we can all work on breaking.
You know that saying, kill them with kindness? Well, let's not try to kill people with kindness, just more like stun them with kindness. It's something I personally would like to work on. It can be very hard to do that, especially when someone else started it or was rude first (hmm this sounds kind of like elementary school all over again), but it is possible to be kind in the face of unkindness.
What we really need to remember is that we don't know what kind of life someone else has lived. We haven't walked in their shoes and we don't know what kind of experiences have led them to this point in their life. All we know is that we can, "Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are." ~Author Unknown
Along with that kindness, we need to try to be understanding.
"Make it a practice to judge persons and things in the most favorable light at all times and under all circumstances." ~Saint Vincent de Paul
There is enough unkindness in the world, so let's not contribute to it even more.
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