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| I took this on a morning walk last year.... It's cute too! |
Positive Pensées
Kathy King
The Gift of I’m Cute Too!
“Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change.”
Bob Kerrey
Where is your focus?
Is it almost exclusively inward?
Do you pause and look to see those around you?
In our world where it is selfies and filters.
Let us look outward.
Let us practice empathy and sympathy in a world full of hurting human beings.
Comments are hateful, folks are suffering.
How can we be a balm to others?
You can be a balm by observing others.
Do they need a kind word or just a smile?
Look to folks who are hurting, look to the forlorn.
Give a small compliment.
A simple “How are you?” can make all the difference to someone who is struggling with their mood.
Don’t worry about the audience of your simple gesture. It is the action that counts.
Practice human kindness in a small way each and every day.
You will notice a great difference in what your life conveys to others.
*Note
I wrote this well over a year ago! Some days I get up, feel inspired and write something new. I did that yesterday. I actually wrote several. Today I could not get this particular writing off my mind. It seems that humanity has found itself in their own “Bubbles.” No ideas are challenged, no new information is added. Just and echo chamber of the same ideas. Other side bad, my side good. Almost in a caveman like manner. For the good of humanity we must reach across the aisle and find what brings us together.
In our quiver full of six children we have a rainbow of personalities. They are all so very different. Even our twins are polar opposites in their bearing and demeanor. When our son Tomas was little, (about two) we had twin boys. The occasion of twins is not a normal occurrence. We had many folks come by and just say how cute they were. What blessings twins just had to be, how life was going to be so interesting with twins. The main theme that was voiced with each visit was just how cute the babies were. Over and over, all of our older kids heard, “Oh my goodness! They are so cute!” Our very non-talkative, silent two-year-old blurted out, “I’m cute too!” We all laughed and immediately told our son that yes, he was indeed quite cute. This cute little story came to mind after visiting our granddaughter. As I pondered how this quiet, (to this day) little boy felt so left out that he had to indeed announce his cuteness. What does that say about others who are indeed the quiet ones? The folks who are forlorn, the person that never really offers any personal information. While that is perfectly acceptable, one small gesture of kindness can in fact make the person who is struggling blossom like a flower. We as humans tend to focus on the groups and interests that for lack of a better way to put it, they fit in our echo chamber. What about those folks outside that sphere? I know we have discussed this comment in prior Pensees but this idea is worth rehashing. How can we reach across the aisle and love our neighbor? By focusing on what brings us together. By focusing on our similarities. Give that smile to someone that you would normally not think to even look their way. Say, “Good Morning” and have a nice day. Open that door for someone who has a handful. Small deposits into humanity will eventually yield a robust balance of goodwill. Today I read an article in the New York Times that asked, why are folks so hostile on airplanes? The answer? People are almost exclusively inward focused. That is why. This time, this age of selfies and me! ME! ME! This has not helped the cause of being a decent human. Be better, do better, be that change that is needed. Be that kind word, be that person that opens the door when no one else will. Be the one that gives that much needed smile. Take that inward focus and push it outward. You might see that it will change you inside. Tell someone, they are cute too!
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