“Be unnecessarily kind because everyone is fighting some battle.” ~ Dalai Lama
We are in the time of holiday gift giving, which for some can be stressful looking for the perfect gift to give. I am reminded that the most simple and accessible gift we always have to give is our kindness.
The Dalai Lama’s reminder to be unnecessarily kind is a wonderful code to live by every day, especially during the holiday season when we hold expectations of happy, joyful experiences but sometimes our reality can be more complicated.
Our simple kindness then becomes a demonstration of our love and compassion and has the potential to reignite hope in others and ourselves.
As Piero Ferrucci writes in his wonderful book, The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life, “The true benefit of kindness is being kind. Perhaps more than any other factor, kindness gives meaning and value to our life, raises us above our troubles and our battles, and make us feel good about ourselves.”
Every act of kindness has ripple effects that spread more love, happiness and kindness in the world. We can choose to radiate our bright light out in the world through our kindness and at the same time be self-nurturing! There is no more important time to spread love and kindness, than in these times of uncertainty and change.
So, I invite you to take a few minutes now to reflect on the following questions:
- What gifts of kindness will you open-heartedly share with others today?
- What gifts of kindness and compassion can you share with yourself today?
- How can you live from this place of kindness and compassion, adding kindness into your daily self-nurturing practice?
- What ripple effects will kindness create in your life?
Remember as Aesop reminds us, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
My hope for you is that you will embrace the practice of giving the gifts of love, compassion and kindness this holiday season and continue to nurture peace in the world from the inside out!
Sending you so much peace, love and gratitude,
Kelley Grimes, M.S.W.
Counselor, Author & Speaker
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As always, you inspire with your word wisdom, quotes, and questions, Kelley. I will be musing on this as I’m engaged with neighbors who are retaliating for calling the police for their ongoing noise disturbances in the wee morning hours last weekend. I’ve called Silent Unity for healing prayer, tried not to talk about it to give it energy and here I am, doing just that.
Your message inspired me to keep trying to be kind and to turn the other cheek– unless it’s blaring Halloween, screeching noises being played at 1 am. Then, I’ll kindly turn to the police.
Thank you Lore! I think setting boundaries and asking for help is an incredibly kind thing to do for ourselves. So sorry to hear about your challenging neighbors. May your kindness nurture and empower you! Thank you so much for your comment!
A beautiful blog post, Kelly (as always). And if I can add, be kind to yourself! I know I am so hard on myself, and I once had a therapist remind me:
“Be gentle to yourself, Jill.” I always try to remember this. Happy Holidays! xoxo
Thank you so much Jill! Being kind to ourselves is the foundation of self-nurturing for sure. I love the reminder to be gentle to yourself and hope my reflective question asking how you will share compassion and kindness with yourself would encourage us to include ourselves in the practice of sharing kindness in the world. I hope you have a beautiful holiday season!
There is never a reason not to be kind to someone. Somehow that is always harder to do when that “someone” is us. Beautiful post!
So true Barb and yet the transformative effects of kindness to ourselves is more kindness in the world. Thank you so much for your comment!
Wise words Kelley! Thanks for the beautiful reminder. This holiday season I’ve focused less on the number of gifts I’m giving and more on the experiences I want to share with my family and friends. I feel less stress, happier and am so looking forward to sharing time with them all! Here’s to sharing kindness and compassion!
I love that you already feel less stress, and more happiness choosing to focus on your experiences with family and friends this holiday season. May kindness and compassion create ripple effects throughout the world as a result! Thank you so much for sharing Pamela!
Such a timely and uplifting post, Kelley! It’s synchronicity at work for me. I have many friends asking to post a word they can carry with them into 2018 and my answer is always kindness. Just as the negative or challenging aspects of life can chip away at our self-esteem so do those acts of kindness build us up, and as you wrote so beautifully, the ripple effect is truly incalculable. I am going to take some quiet time to reflect on the questions you raise to better center myself for the year ahead. Thank you so much for sharing this today!
I chose the word kindness too when asked to post a word! I love the ripple effects kindness can create starting with ourselves and am thrilled you are going to reflect on how you can better care for yourself in the New Year! I am so grateful that my blog resonated with you today Kathleen!
We are on the same thought-wave this week, girlfriend. Cutting out much of the culturally expected holiday freneticism has allowed my family to be kinder and enjoy one another more.
How wonderful Andrea that we can choose a kinder and more enjoyable way to be this holiday season! Thank you so much for your comment and spreading more kindness in the world.
The biggest gift of kindness i can give is that of love as so many people are without that total unconditional love that comes from within
That come when we start to be kind to ourself- then we create a ripple that spreads outwardly- love this post thank you xxx
There is no doubt that the most kind gift is unconditional love. Thank you so much for sharing that so freely in your life Suzie starting with yourself! I am deeply grateful for your comment!
I pray everyday for a better life for everyone.
How beautiful Heather! Thank you for sharing!