Today was World Kindness Day.
I’m a little late, but the day isn’t over yet here on the East Coast!
I just learned about this day, a day when we are supposed to spread kindness wherever we go, all over the world.
How wonderful it is that we have such a day, 24 hours dedicated to promoting kindness.
Whatever it takes, I’m for it. But how sad it is that we need this.
Every day should be kindness day. We should not need an event or an occasion that allots a brief period of time to heighten our awareness. We should be practicing this daily, paying it forward and making it a way of life.
It is possible to be kind all the time. Even when we are grouchy. Even when we are down. Even when we feel like we have nothing to give. We can muster the compassion and patience to show a kindness to another – even when we’re not feeling particularly kind to ourselves.
Today, I was feeling anything but kind. I was feeling tired, run down and selfish. My body hurt, my mind was just as fatigued and I had no energy to spare. It was difficult for me to even be pleasant, never mind kind.
But I pulled it out.
I found that secret stash, my reserve, and remembered that other people don’t deserve my grumpy mood. It’s not their fault I don’t feel well. It’s not their fault that I was pushing myself to get through the day – a motivation and drive that was once my norm. The motivation and drive that pushed me through years of autoimmune hell and afforded me a full, fun and semi-successful existence.
Today, my patience was short. My tolerance low. And my kindness – not so willing.
I cursed the drivers so eager to cut one another off. I cursed the people in the store who were only thinking of themselves. And I despised every one.
It was a day when I remembered everyone who did me wrong and each and every one of my failures. I was angry with my body, resentful that it turned against me years ago and caused me to consistently go through hell, fighting my way through each day with a smile.
A rare day, but a day nonetheless. A rare day, but a reality. A rare day, but an honest one. A day when I admitted that I’m human. I’m not a superhero. And some days just s*#@.
But I found a way to be kind. Because it was how I was raised. Because no one deserves my internal wrath. Because poisoning someone else with my attitude is just – wrong.
So be kind. Find it in your heart. Find it – somewhere. And maybe if we practice this each day, every day will be World Kindness Day.
