At the start of 2024, I looked to inner guidance to formulate intentions for the year and received the words, kindness and grace: kindness as I interact with each person (including myself) and grace in each circumstance or in the face of challenges. For the past two weeks, the question “What does kindness look like?” guided interactions with the people I encountered. The result was surprising.
I have a tendency to talk about myself… a lot. It’s a fear-based response. When it comes to fight or flight, I’m a runner. And since it’s not socially acceptable to bolt from the room mid-conversation, I let my mouth do the running.
The commitment to kindness helped me feel safer in daily interactions with people. I found myself relaxing and listening more. My heart softened. Compassion deepened. I was genuinely more interested in their stories than my own. And in hearing their stories, I found empathy.
Empathy for the joy and hardship in the lives of others provided grace to surrender to the joy and hardship in my own life. Countless daily blessings that go largely unnoticed were suddenly brought to awareness. In learning to give, I discovered just how much I have to share. Though resources like time and money are limited, our reservoir of kindness is limitless. Like love, kindness has its own unique formula. The more you give, the more you get.
This commitment to kindness made me a veritable magnet for the kindness of others. Twice, I came home to find my sidewalk had been shoveled. A friend offered soup. Another paid my way to a breath work retreat. A sweet woman crocheted a plant hanger for me. Then there were the big ticket items, like a free ski pass to Vail and a guest pass to the Gondola Club at the base of the ski lift. Other friends let me stay in their home in the Vail Valley. Even drivers on the road were more courteous! Smiles were deeper and more genuine, hugs lasted just a little longer, there was more eye contact, and a generalized sensation of sweetness permeated my days.
In just two weeks, it was amazing to see how a seemingly tiny shift in perspective had such a profound effect on me and the people I encountered. I got really excited thinking about what kind of shift we could create with a kindness pandemic!
February 1-2 is the Gaelic (Irish) festival of Imbolc, also known as St. Brigid’s day. It’s the half way point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. The festival symbolizes hope, as the darkness of winter gives way to light and the emergent promise of life. Seeds quietly anticipating the arrival of spring lay in stillness, preparing for the surge of energy they’ll need to push through the soil. This is the time for contemplation and reflection, to allow dreams to germinate and new ideas to come to light.
For the month of February, I would like to invite people to join me in sowing seeds of kindness for 29 days. Each day, it can be as simple as asking, “What does kindness look like in this moment?” Or maybe there is a bigger project calling to you. However 29 days of kindness looks in your life, I challenge you to generously sow seeds of kindness. As the year progresses, we will all watch in awe and wonder as those seeds take root and grow.
Finally, I would encourage you to plant your first seed of kindness with this question, “What does being kind to myself look like in this moment?” Listen to your body and the voice of inner guidance as they whisper the reply. Then… do it.
