I am one of those lucky people who grew up in a joint family that was rich in every way except financially. Every member was generous to a fault and exuded kindness. Not even one hesitated to take the shirt off their backs to give to someone in need. As far as food was concerned, don’t even ask! There was always an extra plate which was lovingly served—either to a visitor who turned up unannounced, or to someone in the locality. Of course, almost every day we had street dwellers at our door, confident that they would not be turned away.
Over the years, I’ve seen my Mom always carry a bag of something to eat each time she stepped out of the house—it could be food or something else to give away.
And of course, while growing up I have often wondered how my folks could consistently be nice, but today, I know it takes tremendous strength to always be kind, both in word and action, especially when all one wants to do is—oh you know what I mean!
My uncle often said that he never wanted to sleep feeling guilty about treating someone badly. I must agree!
Which got me humming:
Kindness is as easy as A to Z
A Ask yourself, what kindness can I practice today? Do a random act of kindness. It can be as easy as smiling at someone, or telling them they look good
B Be kind to yourself. Yes, you as much as anyone, deserve your kindness. Why not take five minutes off to enjoy a cup of your favorite beverage? I recommend coffee
C Compliment 2 people today, Cook a little extra, pack it up and go give it to someone who needs it Easy, no? Or just share what you have
D Donate a book, money, blood, food, clothes
E Encourage someone – send loving messages to five people you know. Just email them, message them
F Find three things in your closet to give away today
G Give a gift for no reason
H Help someone with your skill. Help someone cross the road, carry their bags.
I Invite your neighborhood workers for a cup of tea. This one works for me as there’s always some work going on. Or just offer any worker a cup of tea.
J Jazz up someone’s day by giving them flowers.
K Keep a jar and put a coin in it every day. When it fills up, donate it or use it to buy something for someone
L Listen to someone who wants to talk and needs a friendly ear
M Make a greeting card for someone and post it/email it to them with a loving message.
N Nourish yourself. It can be with good thoughts, good food, good books.
O Omit one thing from your day that makes you unhappy
P Phone someone you haven’t been in touch with, and have been meaning to call
Q Quit complaining for 7 days. Before you know it, it will become a habit. If you smoke, do yourself a favor. Quit.
R Reciprocate an act of kindness you’ve received
S Smile at everyone you see. I know, I am repetitive with that!
T Thank all the people you meet today, including the lift operator and all those workers who make a difference in your life
U Unplug your devices for an hour. Go out for a walk. Breathe that fresh air.
V Volunteer. Visit your local welfare home and give something.
W Write a gratitude journal, write a letter to someone who has shown you kindness
X Xpress your “I love you” to each family member, the ones that live with you and the ones in other places. Do it now.
Y Yield. If you are being stubborn about something trivial, give in. Now. It is okay to put a smile on someone’s face. And your own.
Z Zzzz. Yes, promise yourself you’ll get enough sleep.
I challenge you to do at least five of these acts of kindness.
Let me know which ones in the comments
14 comments
Oh. I love this post, Vidya. I’m going to keep it up on my computer to see which ones I’m going to do. This is a perfect post for the onset of our holiday season. Thanks so much for sharing!
Beautiful post by a lovely woman. Thank you for sharing.
Aww, trust you to come up with 26 ways of being kind 🙂 I can see this as part of the next A to Z challenge!
Heartily agree with every single one. It takes effort to be kind but once you take the effort and do it consistently, it becomes easier, much like any habit. My kindness (especially on social media and the habit of not gossiping anymore) has helped me to a large extent. Plus I see Gy and the kindness she exudes always and that’s a huge and compelling force to remain kind.
Hugs and happy World Kindness Day to you, Vidya 🙂
Love your ABC format, Vidya. Great reminder to be kind.
Very nice simply adorable.
Such a beautiful post, warm and kind just like you are. To tell you the truth I find it hard to be kind to everyone, you know to the folks who do you wrong or are just plain nasty. Some part in me does not wish them well. And then there are people who say they are kind at all times but then I see them do sly stuff and that makes me feel unkind towards them. But overall, kindness is a great attitude to cultivate. I love your A to Z list. A, B, D, E, F, J are what I already do.
Hope to be more kind as I know that it is joyful and nice. Wish you happiness and love.
I know exactly what you mean, Rach, and when I observed my folks being always nice, it used to freak me out. I’d go for a brisk walk or sweep the house to get those feelings out of my system. But the truth is, when we feel bad, often only we suffer. The mean party is never even aware of it. And I know what you’re saying about claiming to be nice but not really practising what they preach. It takes all sorts to make the world no? I find that when I spend my time productively, even if it means not being up to date about what is happening out there, I am happiest. Hugs and thank you so much for coming by!
Vidya Sury recently posted…A memorable trip to Goa
What a wonderful post! In reading the comments I, like Rachna, sometimes have a tough time being kind to the unkind. Then, my inner challenge voice pipes up. My challenge is to out kind their surliness in an attempt to cause them to lighten up and smile. It doesn’t always work, but it’s one heck of a reward when it does. 🙂
Vidya, you’re a special breed of person. Glad you share your insights and kindness with the rest of us.
Felicia! So happy to see you here! You know–I almost didn’t publish this yesterday, but I feel a special kind of commitment to days like WorldKindnessDay and WorldGratitudeDay. There is one phrase my Mom loved to throw at me all the time: Kill them with kindness. It feels wonderful to provoke someone by not rising to respond to their meanness. And yes, for those times I am caught between being nice and being tempted to retaliate, I quickly pour my heart out on paper, feel instantly better, and feel more ready to be nice. 🙂
Thank you for your kind words!
Vidya Sury recently posted…A memorable trip to Goa
A lovely and inspiring post. We generally feel elated at our kindness when we help someone, mostly those who serve us, the regular vendors, the security at the gate or those who press our clothes and some such people. We are sort of grateful for their services and expect the kindness we show would inspire them to serve well. While this is better than not being kind at all, kindness would really mean help rendered by money or in kind or by time spared from our busy schedule to those who are utter strangers or who can never help us in any way.
The trait of sharing comes from living in a joint family as Ms. Vidya pointed out or innately developed.Helping when one is himself or herself in need is highly meritorious like a hungry dog sharing the only bone it has with another.Philanthropy is not the preserve of the rich only and can be practiced even by a daily wage earner when he spares a coin to the needy beggar.
Thanks for the excellent post
What a lovely post, Vidya.In a world that’s increasingly getting selfish by the day we need such reminders every now and then. Come to think of it, it costs so little and yet, people hesitate even for something as simple as smiling back when you do…I’ve seen that so often! Loved this post.
I have no idea how you do this Vidya…you come up with such great ways to share your ideas. I love your ABC’s of kindness. Thank you for putting this article together.
What an awesome list, Vidya! Love it. Such a great reminder and easy things to do to stretch our heart each day.
I love love love this post Vidya! So upbeat and loving. Thank you for sharing…and might I say those images are a treat. Love them!
xoxo, Z~