Kindness

I read this years ago and for some reason it popped back into my head today and I thought I would share.  I hope you enjoy it...

From the power of kindness by Piero Ferrucci:

Kindness?  It may strike us as absurd to even approach the subject: Our world is full of violence, war, terrorism, devastation.  And yet life goes on precisely because we are kind to one another.  No newspaper tomorrow will tell of a mother who read a bedtime story to her child, or a father who prepared breakfast for his children, of someone who listened with attention, of a friend who cheered us up, of a stranger who helped us carry a suitcase.  Many of us are kind without even knowing it.  We do what we do simply because it is right…

…To receive kindness does us good.  Think of a time someone has been kind to you, in a big or a small way: a passerby gave you directions to reach the station or a stranger threw herself in the river to save you from drowning.  What effect did it have on you?  Probably a beneficial one, because if someone helps us when we need it, we feel relief.  And everyone likes to be heard, treated with warmth and friendliness, understanding, and nourished.

Something similar happens on the other side of the equation: Giving kindness does us as much good as receiving it.  If you accept the broad definition of kindness that I will outline in this book, you can safely say – and scientific research confirms it – that kind people are healthier and live longer, are more popular and productive, have greater success in business, and are happier than others.  In other words, they are destined to live a much more interesting and fulfilling life than those who lack this quality.  They are much better equipped to face life in all its savage unpredictability and frightening precariousness.