Our lives can get so busy and hectic that sometimes we forget to take time out to extend kindness or a helping hand to people around us. This past weekend I was given a gentle and simple reminder about why kindness is so important.
As most of you know, I’ve been gearing up to head out to Cali and shake things up in my life. Well, the day finally came where it was time to board the plane and say goodbye to Florida for a bit.
I arrived out in California to be greeted by an amazing group of people right off the plane. They went out of their way to make me feel welcome and at home right from the start. Their kindness set my whole experience into motion that day.
The next day they had planned a brunch and beach day that really showed me what Cali has to offer. It may have seemed like no big deal to them or a small act of kindness to show me a great first day on the West coast, but to me it meant the world.
I felt like I had an entire welcoming committee that was just exploding with kindness towards me and this made all the difference in such a big transition for me. I will never forget how they made me feel in these moments or the imprint it made on my heart to feel so connected, included and welcome.
We can never truly know when a small gesture of kindness can have a profound impact on someone’s experience, life or current situation.
When I arrived into the airport that night, it had been stressful traveling with my two fur babies and I was walking into the unknown, naturally having reservations. However, when I was greeted with such warmness and hospitality, any sort of fears or second-guessing diminished immediately.
A little sprinkle of kindheartedness has the ability to change the trajectory of someone’s life. And even if our compassion and kindness doesn’t make a massive impact, it still has an effect that will ripple on with time.
What we don’t always realize is that we are all walking each other home. Our goal on this earth should be to lift others around us up and to help each other rise.
We should forever be empathetically putting ourselves in other people’s shoes and treating others how we would want to be treated. This is such a golden rule to follow, which I learned at a very young age from my parents and continue to see it’s value as life unfolds.
So, if your life has been busy or stressful, this is a simple reminder to be kind from me to you. Go out of your way to help someone today, to make someone smile or to lighten someone else’s load.
If we all would pay it forward a bit more with loving kindness, this world will be a better place. Let’s all do our part to make everyone around us, whether a familiar face or stranger, feel loved, supported and at home.
Sprinkle kindness everywhere you go. One thing I know for sure is: you will never regret being kind. Namaste.