Kindness Challenge - Week 5

Created by Niki Meadows

#RevOfKindness @NikiMeadowsRA

Choosing Kindness

Sadly, I don't always ask myself these three questions before I respond to an angry person.  My first inclination is to fire back.  If I do repeat these questions to myself, my response is more measured.  I've found that a pause in the dialogue can defuse the situation. "I don't know what to say.  I need time to think about that."  It prevents me and the other person from spouting off something else we might regret.

This is the hardest rule and biggest challenge. Oddly enough, unhappy people usually need kindness most.  When someone lashes out, I try to learn what's really bothering him or her. I ask if he or she is okay or if there's anything I can do to help.  Sometimes, I'm met with obstinance; other times tears.  At least, however, I've tried to make a connection...instead of a disconnection.

The "turn the other cheek" rule.  I ask myself, "Is it worth it?  Most of the time, it's not, and I walk away from the confrontation--swallow my pride.  I would only persist if the person was in danger.  If it's not a matter of life and death, then whether I'm right is not important. 

I encounter many people on a daily basis.  If I offer smiles and kind words, I've left behind the best part of myself, and maybe, brought a bit of sunshine to a cloudy heart.  Life can be unkind enough, without my adding to other people's sorrows.

Kindness is a conscious choice that can become a good habit.  If I keep that in mind, I will make an effort to be kinder, even to people who seem devoid of kindness. A smile, a sympathetic or understanding word, can make all the difference in someone else's life.

Kindness is contagious.  Pass it along, pay it forward--help it spread.

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