Kindness Doesn’t Have To Be Random

Last night I had the honor of engaging with a number of strong, intelligent, and compassionate women in our newly launched Virtual Women’s Network. (If you haven’t checked it out yet, contact me and I will send you an invite.) On Wednesday nights, we gather for a virtual happy hour to learn from one another. Last night, we shared random acts of kindness that we have either demonstrated or been the recipient of. It was so rewarding to have a call filled with such positive conversation and inspiration.

Listening to each individual tell their experience caused me to pause and think about my own behavior. I try very hard to be a kind and caring individual. But I am human, and there are times I don’t act as kind as I should. Stress, frustration, and exhaustion can impact how I behave and I want to be more intentional about not allowing external factors impact internal behavior. This is something that I am focusing on while I have time for self awareness and growth. While also continuing my efforts to give grace to myself and others.

But my need to behave differently wasn’t really the purpose of this blog. I want to focus on this theory of “random acts of kindness”. As my dear friend and former colleague KC Cleary stated last night, there is scientific evidence that being kind and doing nice things for others not only enhances their well-being, it also enhances your own.

My question is simple. Why should acts of kindness be random? And why do we accentuate the focus on kindness in challenging times? IMHO, people should strive to be kind every day. We should demonstrate empathy and compassion to others and to ourselves no matter the circumstances. Kindness is necessary in good times and bad and should be consistently displayed, not random.

Kindness is about quality of interactions and meaning. It’s an act and/or way of behaving. It’s not something you have to buy or invest significant amounts of time in. The smallest acts can demonstrate your generosity and care for someone else. For most people, it’s the little things that make the greatest difference in making them feel good. Simply holding open a door for the person behind you. Saying hello to a stranger walking past you or sending a note to a friend or loved one.

It’s also about recognizing others who are in need and springing into action. Giving someone a compliment, celebrating a success or being the one who lends a shoulder or ear. Telling someone how special they are to you might be just what they needed when they are feeling down and out. Or maybe it’s lending a hand to your neighbor who needs help with some yard work. If we each begin to practice kindness every day, the world will be a far better place for each of us.

After spending time with the women of the VWN, I was encouraged and inspired. Each of the women had multiple examples of how they have demonstrated or received kindness. It has come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and methods but it’s happening all the time. Talking about our collective experiences made everyone feel good. It was a welcome change. Unfortunately, we spend too much time weeding through all the negativity, “fake news”, anger, and just down right mean behavior of people.

This group of women gave me hope. They inspired me to focus on how I can demonstrate kindness not randomly but consistently. I pray that as we continue in the days, weeks and months ahead, people don’t revert back to the behaviors of the past. I hope we remain grateful for all we have, no matter that it is, and we bring joy to others. What we do or don’t say and what we do or don’t do can have a profound impact on others.

So let’s ditch random acts of kindness and demonstrate kindness in our words, actions, and behaviors each and every day. What’s the worst that can come out of being kind? Well, people might start to think you’re too generous or too friendly. And heaven forbid people saw our softer side.

As always, drop me a note, share your thoughts and comments and invite others to be a part of #Mamallamasworld.

Until next time. Stay safe, healthy and please do your part to #flattenthecurve.

Cheers!

MamaLlama a.k.a. Lisa