Kindness
Kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Friendly is defined as being pleasant. Generous is defined as showing a readiness to give more of something, as money or time, than is strictly necessary or expected. Considerate is defined as being careful not to cause inconvenience or hurt to others.
When you look at the photograph above, the young man is certainly exibiting kindness; he is definitely giving more of himself than expected; and he is being careful not to inconvenience or harm the handicapped lady yet he is certainly being being inconvenienced and experiencing unpleasantness by getting wet or possibly ill.
So do we have a dilema? Is the definition of kindness above a complete one?
If we look harder at the picture we might see that the young man has a smile and a look of satisfaction on his face, the onlookers are thinking what a nice young man he is, and the lady has a thankful look. Maybe minutes later a shop owner runs out with a towel for the young man, or a barista brings him a cup of warm coffee, or several others come out and open the car door and assist the lady into her car, or a policeman pulls up and stops traffic.
I have been afforded kindness, and each time the experience has etched itself into my memory and stitched itself into the fabric of my human experience.
I think a better definition of kindness might be; “the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate; to your own inconvenience and possible harm; knowing the action has made you, the person to whom you have extended the kindness, and the world in general, become better for your efforts.”
So do we have a dilema? Is the definition of kindness above a complete one?
If we look harder at the picture we might see that the young man has a smile and a look of satisfaction on his face, the onlookers are thinking what a nice young man he is, and the lady has a thankful look. Maybe minutes later a shop owner runs out with a towel for the young man, or a barista brings him a cup of warm coffee, or several others come out and open the car door and assist the lady into her car, or a policeman pulls up and stops traffic.
I have been afforded kindness, and each time the experience has etched itself into my memory and stitched itself into the fabric of my human experience.
I think a better definition of kindness might be; “the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate; to your own inconvenience and possible harm; knowing the action has made you, the person to whom you have extended the kindness, and the world in general, become better for your efforts.”
Extend kindness. If you have recieved kindness, cherish it.
