A Kindness Creed

Kindness consists of love in action, not just feelings of warm fuzzies. It’s done not in self-interest, but is repaid in other ways. Staying selfless, not selfish, not transacting one-sidedly, it makes both parties smile, even bringing joy’s tears. Acts of kindness are intentional, not accidental or involuntary, but may be random in effect, spontaneous, unrehearsed, unplanned, unpredictable, arising from circumstances. Scarcely seen, kindness is unpracticed, uncommon, unusual, surprising, like a unicorn sighting. Kindness involves risk and is not foolproof, sometimes backfiring and going so wrong. Good Samaritans sometimes get sued or killed, but kindness consequences are worth the risk. Kindness should stir hearts and slake poignant thirsts of not just friends and family but everyone everywhere. Kindness acts may be minute, overlooked by the masses, but its effects are not negligible. Kindness punches up for its weight. Big things consist of countless connected crumbs, and even dewdrops of kindness ripple out in waves, touching others, who touch others, who touch others, and helping heal the countless wounds in our world. (See also my poems “The Golden Road of Kindness” and “Quantum Acts of Kindness.”)