Dear Jessica Brennan,
I have started intentionally adding kindness to the equation of my life. What I mean by this is, I don’t make a decision based solely on economics or convenience, I add kindness into the mix. So for example I might say,
“You should go and see Peggy for a massage. She’s really good, particularly if you’re in pain, and she’s kind.”
“You should take yoga classes from Susan. The class size is not overwhelming for a beginner and she is very kind.”
“You should hire Chris to do the sound and lights for your event. His work is high quality, and he’s kind.”
Kindness is a commodity that we tend to undervalue, but do you really want to have relationships with people who don’t possess it? How can you connect with someone without it?
I would even go as far as to say that people who aren’t kind are a waste of your time, but that doesn’t sound very kind.
So, on that note, I am ever more aware of my own behaviour. Some days you don’t feel like being kind. Sometimes people push your buttons and often kindness isn’t your automatic response, but it needs to be. Because this world is so lacking in civility, and our so-called role models don’t seem to value it.
Dear Jessica, you are naturally kind – always have been – and I hope you never lose sight of the value of that quality. Because in the end, in the words of many great misquoted people, not the least of whom is Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Always stay humble and kind,
Love,
Mum xo
