An ode to kindness

Won’t you be my neighbor?

Kindness–a very important word. We live in a time and place where kindness often seems to be in short supply. I just watched “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” the documentary about Mr. Rogers. What a treat to watch a movie about a truly good and kind person. He loved children, felt it important to love and accept them for who they are. He respected them and their feelings. 

Finding our inner Mr. Rogers

He said that we need to love ourselves and others. One of the people in the movie said that he thinks there are a lot of Fred Rogers in the world. I think so, too. But I think we sometimes hide our inner Mr. Rogers. Being kind also makes us vulnerable. And somehow it seems to be out of fashion.

When I taught, especially in the last couple of years, I used kindness as my mantra. For me, kindness means acceptance and respect, combined with love. I tried not only to treat the children with kindness, but also the parents and my colleagues–even when the kindness wasn’t returned. I didn’t always succeed, inwardly. I did manage to at least be respectful most of the time and to remember that people were doing the best they could.

With the children, kindness came easily. Witnessing their becoming, learning, struggling, and coming to know themselves and others inspired kindness and respect. With adults, I found it sometimes more challenging. But I came to realize that adults (myself included) often feel afraid. And parents of young children probably feel more afraid than most. They want the best for their child–of course–but don’t always know how to get it. And sending a child off to school for the first time and not knowing what or how they are doing is really scary. 

Practicing Random Acts of Self-Kindness

For me, the hardest part of this whole kindness thing comes in applying it to myself. I can be very hard on myself–and mean. Beating myself up (figuratively, of course) for not doing enough, not doing it well enough, not doing the right thing, and on and on. But I am learning to be kind to myself, even though I stumble often.

So that’s it, my latest rant on kindness. I think the world needs kindness more than just about anything right now. When we feel loved and accepted for who we are, we can relax and be our best selves. I hope you are finding enough kindness in your life. I send you bucket’s full of kindness. Bathe in in, drink it in. Let it give you strength for the journey. And while I’m at it, I’ll take a few sips, myself.

Here are some other thoughts I’ve shared about kindness: 

The practice of gratitude

inspired to be kind

And a review of Joyce Sidman’s book This is just to say: poems of apology and forgiveness

And if you want to find out more about Fred Rogers, you can read his book: The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember (affiliate link) or check out the organization that carries on his work: Fred Rogers Center

And as always, thanks for stopping by. 

xoxo