“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”
--Mother Teresa
It might seem odd to read an article on how to be more kind….but pause and ask yourself if you could be better at it. We all want to believe that we are genuinely proficient at this important subject, but if we are honest we will admit that we are good at this…..sometimes – when it’s convenient. There, I said it – and now that the truth has been revealed, let’s explore how setting a simple daily intention can help us become a more kind and genuine human being.
The bracelet in the picture says it all; Kindness begins with me. You are in control of how you act, what you think, what you say and do…so kindness is something you can represent. You have a choice when engaging with people…you can choose to be kind or you can choose not to be. Most of the time, we are all so busy (rushing around) that we aren’t even conscious of whether or not we are being kind.
For the sake of simplifying, here are some other words to describe kind; caring, sympathetic, nice, gentle, thoughtful, compassionate, humane, and considerate. WOW – kindness is a whole lot of good!
For a moment think about how it feels when someone is kind to you. When someone does something nice for me, it makes me remember that I want to be like that to other people! It’s been scientifically proven that when another human being witnesses a random act of kindness, their health, well being and mood is greatly improved. Think about how you feel when you come out of a movie regarding the goodness of humanity….and how much you want that feeling to stay with you. It’s because we really want to live in a world where we are all kind and good to each other…and it all starts with you.
There is a Greek proverb that states: “kindness begets kindness” which is also similar to “as you sow, so shall you reap." These sayings have been around since the start of man…and with good reason – they are rock solid truth! When you put kindness into everything you do, say and touch, it will come back to you 20 fold! Ready to give it a try….just one day is all it should take to get hooked on kindness!
Begin each morning with a 5 minute meditation on your daily intention of kindness. Sit quietly and envision yourself being kind, compassionate, gentle, caring and considerate with all people you come in contact with. Think of some things you can do to help others at work, think of places you can perform some random acts of kindness, picture yourself smiling throughout the day – passing the goodness from person to person – creating a ripple effect.
Once you’ve set your intention, you’ll need to perform self checks throughout the day so that you stay on track and don’t get distracted. It’s human nature to lose focus and become sidetracked in the busy lifestyle we live in today. This is why most people fail at keeping commitments – the distractions are everywhere in this overly modern, high tech, noisy society.
Should you find that you need some help staying focused on your daily intention, consider the meaning to pause® bracelet to provide regular, gentle reminders. The bracelet gently and privately vibrates every 90 minutes with a friendly nudge to be mindful of your daily intention of kindness. This simple and inexpensive bracelet holds the key to keeping you focused on your intention – all day long. The bracelet was created to help people pause and connect to something meaningful….and what’s more meaningful than kindness?
“When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared
for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.” -Dalai Lama
When we are kind, caring people, we feel good about our own life and we are contributing to the well-being of everyone around us! Living with the daily intention of kindness is good for you, good for your family, good for your community and good for our world!
LIVE WITH INTENTION – Kindness begins with YOU!
