An excerpt from Maria Shriver’s short read, “I’ve been Thinking,” was powerful to me:
“We all want to be treated with kindness, because we are all struggling in some way, shape or form. I had to learn this as an adult, because growing up in a large, competitive, and tough Irish Catholic family, I used to confuse kindness with weakness. When I grew up, I learned differently. I now understand that kindness doesn’t mean weakness. You have to be really strong to be kind…You have to be really mindful … A person may look ‘happy on the outside,’ but who knows what’s happening on the inside.”
Some of the strongest people I know are also the kindest. And many have been through or are going through some crazy-hard life situations. They show up with a hug or inspirational words despite facing great loss and suffering. Knowing that was proof enough for Maria’s message to resonate with me.
I know that God has given me enough grace in some of my own “most difficult life experiences” to allow me to “show up” as kind and generous in my actions despite how I really felt inside. I can’t take credit for this because, like most of humanity, I’m not strong enough on my own. I give thanks for that to both by faith and a strong tribe of friends and family that surround me.
Today, be proud of yourself for showing up kind, in the midst of whatever is going on in your life. The ability to do so reveals great strength. I believe we definitely make the world better by showing kindness in every possible moment we can…especially when it’s the hardest to do so. You know what else is fun? Doing so likely will have the outcome of making us feel happier, which is a pretty cool by-product.