Kindness is the Key to Improved Wellbeing

What is true Kindness? I would say kindness means being considerate, showing compassion, and treating everyone as our own family. That would be a great start. 

We humans are the way we are because of the events in our lives that have led us to where we are physically, mentally and emotionally.

If we’re hurt, chances are we often hurt ourselves and so hurt others, either directly or indirectly. If we’re healed, we often heal others. And when we’re scared, we act out of place.

To the outside world, this may manifest in the form of inequality, racism, discrimination, verbal and physical abuse, etcetera. But the truth is, the current state of our mind often dictates our behaviour and actions, and this can have a negative effect on ourselves and others around us.

This is why I feel no one should be judged because, as I have mentioned earlier, it’s just a reflection of that person’s current state of wellbeing. The best thing to do when we come across people who act out of place is to show kindness and warmth towards them. It takes a lot of courage to take such initiative, especially when we feel we’re not in the wrong. However, taking this crucial first step is the key for helping them to break their negative patterns.

I can give a recent example of this. Here in New Zealand, a few people are being portrayed as selfish by stocking up excess amounts of toilet paper. Well, I understand why most people would say this, but I feel the people who do this are also feeling very afraid, and that their current state of wellbeing is all over the place. 

Showing anger and frustration towards them is not going to help anybody. In fact, it’s going to do the opposite, plus it will also affect our own well being negatively. So, let’s just be kind and more understanding of their situation because I’ll bet even they themselves are not fully aware of their actions — they’re just being dictated by fear and, as we know, fear often makes us act out of place.

So, if there are those who are rushing to grab every single toilet paper pack, let’s break their pattern with kindness, by helping them stock up even more.

I know this can be hard for some to understand but I believe patience is one of the essential requirements for this task.

And if that doesn’t help, please try to see them as your own Family. We all have that not-so-cool Uncle or Aunty at the Christmas Party, who we don’t like to invite but invite anyway because they’re Family, right? The same principle applies here.

I know that, for most of our lives, we have been conditioned to think of ourselves first. We often hear that phrase “everybody for themselves”. But I feel we, as Humans, are way better and stronger than that, because we have unlimited potential to lift each other up. It’s just a matter of switching our thinking in a matter of a seconds — then we can see all the wonder that this achieves.

Let’s go back to helping people stock up on toilet paper. I feel it’s worthwhile trying a non-anger-based approach to calm other people down because, chances are, they will suddenly be shocked and realise their actions are out of place, and therefore would probably go easy on their toilet paper collection. It is only if we treat them with anger that I’m sure they will fight back, because that’s our human nature.

Another possibility is we’ll just fail miserably with our kind approach. However, I believe we’re smart enough to find solutions to every problem that arises in front of us.

On a more practical note, what about finding a solution for there being no toilet paper left in the supermarket? I wonder if that’s a tough one for us to solve?

Well, it’s actually not. One alternative would be grabbing a paper towel for time being, or a box of tissues, using sanitary napkins, or cotton balls, or wipes, or even using water, just as our Ancestors did. I’m sure there are many more ways.

Anyway, my point is, focusing on a problem is just a waste of our precious time and energy! I feel we should focus rather on finding a fix.

So, let’s extend our hand towards one another by showing Kindness, which is one of the best forms of strength.

I, personally, throughout my life, have experienced Kindness on several occasions, and hence I can say that Kindness and Love is the key. It is, in fact, our biggest strength, and once we fully acknowledge it, we can accomplish many wonders as one human race.

Thank you for reading this.