The Possibility of Kindness.

"Be kind when it is possible. It is always possible." - Dalai Lama

Kindness is a friend, a warm blanket...an energy. What if we put kindness above ourselves? What if we put kindness above looking so perfectly made up? What if we put kindness on our agenda for the day? Or placed it as the top item on our to-do list?

I am excited about this opportunity to provide my thoughts on kindness with KAE. Excited about where it might lead. I feel like it's the start of something bigger.

Being kind to others means also being kind to myself. Staying calm feels so much better than stress and anxiety! What do people think of me? How will I transition to my new job? Will I have time to see the wonderful friends I made? So many thoughts...and so many questions... but are they really necessary?!? I can be kind to myself by resting when I need to rest, give myself the space to read a book, do yoga, call a friend who I have not spoken to in a while, greet my neighbor, or volunteer. All of these things are restorative. That is being kind.

In memory of Muhammad Ali, let's share kindness today. In a 1974 interview with David Frost, Ali revealed how he wanted to be remembered, and his words are as much about his life spent fighting for equality and justice as they are about the heroic feats he accomplished inside the boxing ring. In true Ali fashion, his words flowed like poetry, spinning a recipe for a life well-lived. When Frost asked Ali how he would like to be remembered, Ali responded:

"I'd like for them to say: He took a few cups of love. He took one tablespoon of patience, one teaspoon of generosity, one pint of kindness. He took one quart of laughter, one pinch of concern. And then, he mixed willingness with happiness. He added lots of faith, and he stirred it up well. Then he spread it over a span of a lifetime, and he served it to each and every deserving person he met."

It's important to think about how we want to be remembered. I think that by doing that, we would immediately change our behavior for the better. The way we interact would be different because it would mean more than that moment. It would mean something beyond ourselves. Our focus would be our impact.

If you intentionally put kindness into practice in your own lives, please share your stories with us below. I'd love to hear.