Several years ago, when my now part of the Space Force adult daughter worked at Starbucks, I told her those three words. She had told me tales of working the drive-thru and the stressful situations and frustrations and I simply looked at her and reminded her that she might be the only kind person in that person’s story that day.
There are people who might be rude to us or not like our stories or not want to be our friends or snap at us and as hard as it is for our egos to not like that moment, we have the greatest power, the greatest gift – and that is kindness.
Sometimes kindness is walking away.
Sometimes kindness is smiling.
Sometimes kindness is forgiving.
Sometimes kindness is speaking up.
In fact, I try to remind myself and my kids almost every single day to simply remember to be kind. To smile at others, to be gracious, to show up.
And to not take it personally if it’s not reciprocated.
Which, honestly, is the hardest part for me.
And yet, so often our bubble in this world intersects with those who are dealing with the hardest things – and their response isn’t a reflection of our worth – it’s just their response.
We have power over our response.
You might never realize the power of simply being kind.
It ripples.
It moves farther than we can see.
It spreads joy.
It brings hope.
It is life-changing.
I told my daughter she has the greatest gift – she could be the person who changes someone’s day.
Simply by being kind.
~Rachel
