Apparently February 17-23 is Random Acts of Kindness Week. Who knew right?

I think it’s a good time as any then to talk about kindness. Kindness is so important, especially in the world we live in nowadays.

The dictionary defines kindness as “the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.” But to me, it’s so much more than that. It’s about being aware of other people and not intentionally causing harm or offense.

Now when I say that, I don’t mean walking on eggshells around people to be politically correct or anything. I mean that as in situational awareness, and in owning up when you hurt someone.

Lately, I’ve been noticing my surroundings a lot more and doing my best to be aware of them. I carry myself differently and I watch how I speak to others. I’ve already noticed that I’m less annoyed and frustrated, and when I am, I’m able to get over it much quicker.

Kindness doesn’t have to be some grand gesture. It can be as simple as helping around the house more to give someone else a break. Or it can be noticing the person who dropped some money out of their wallet and returning it to them.

I was at the grocery store in the self-checkout the other day. Something came up and I needed an attendant’s help with my order. The problem was, all the checkouts were being used and he was the only attendant on duty. When he came over, I told him I was sorry. And he just goes “No you’re not.” So I said, “I’m truly sorry I’m making your job harder. That’s not what I want to do.” I did feel bad for having to make him come over to help me.

I started out this post by saying that it was Random Acts of Kindness week. But truthfully, kindness should be something you practice every day. You shouldn’t be kind because I or someone else tell you to. You should be kind because you’re one of 7 billion people. It’s not a one week of the year thing.

One of my favorite quotes/ mottos right now is “Do no harm but take no crap.” This goes with the idea of kindness. I’m not out here to hurt anyone. But I’m also not afraid to stand up for myself and respect my boundaries. I don’t let people walk all over me. That’s not kindness. That’s being passive and submissive.

It doesn’t matter what you do with your life. Kindness affects everyone in every stage of life. Work, school, play, hobbies, grocery stores. Everywhere you go, you can be kind. Life is too short to be anything else.