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I've been thinking about about kindness....
You know...The Best Ever You kind of kindness....
The kindness where we are nice to all we meet....
Are you kind to all you encounter? Do you pause to be compassionate and kind to others?
In particular, with respect to kindness, I've been thinking about how so many of us are going about our daily lives with a variety of issues that may not be obvious to others. I've also been thinking a lot about how many of us are rushed. Often we have a motivation to get there first, be the first, be ahead of someone, not wait and so forth. Those factors might not make kind, thoughtful encounters in our moments that matter.
It got me to thinking these past few days about all the people we encounter around in our daily lives.
I've been encountering a variety of people I know and some I don't, as I've been out and around since October 19, 2018. That's the day my dad passed away. I've been on and off miserable since my dad died. We're not the only family out there who has lost a family member. My mom indicates and apologizes to the universe for being in a blur and funk off and on for months now. But I'm at the grocery store, for example, and I don't have a sign around my neck that says, "It's April 9th - Be Nice to Me - My Dad Died in Oct and I'm still struggling and today was his birthday." I'm over in the apple/produce section having a random tear-fest and someone said, "Who died?" I looked up and an older, wiser soul said, "Mom or Dad?" It was wild how she just knew. Quiet and quick conversation... bit of a regroup... and I straightened myself out. But that moment of kindness mattered. Hugs from strangers. Thank you for that. I'm sorry for getting up off the couch that day thinking I was stronger than I really was, but I pushed through. The family group movie list texts were great that day too.
I talked to my mom about this just now on the phone --- The blog about kindness. I'm grateful to have a mom to call!!!! She had a lot of add, but let me back up for a moment.
This morning, I asked two of our sons, Cam and Quaid. They're used to me asking things like this and always pretty cooperative with the maker of all things chocolate-chip pancakes, so I said, "Ok, I'm writing this about being kind to all your encounter because you aren't aware what is going on with people in their own lives."
I added,
"People are:
Sick
Grieving
Stressed
Worried
Fearful
Anxious
Insecure
Jealous
Mad
Lost
Abused
Financially distraught
Sad
Betrayed
and our boys, Cam and Quaid quickly added:
Addicted
Hungry
Depressed
Mentally ill
Mentally deficient
Hassled
I circled back with the list to Cam again a bit later and he added:
Drained
Exhausted
Emotional
Bullied
I'm sure there are many more. Back to that phone call with my mom... she added:
In a hurry
Harried
Physically limited
Injured
Medicated
Stressed financially
Mom made sure to chime in that so many people are always in such a rush and impatient -- so much so they don't notice others.
I was reminding my mom of when my dad would go to the video store or video section of the store. In these trips I'm referring to, he was a bit more well, but still a stroke survivor and still mostly blind. In the earlier years following his stroke, he could navigate things mostly alone if someone needed to do additional shopping, you could leave him for a bit and he'd be fine. That is, unless he bumped into someone by mistake. There were several instances of bumping into people by mistake, and mind you, in looking at my dad, it was not obvious he was ill or partially blind, etc... On several instances, people almost created fights or in fact did create fights with my dad over him having bumped into them by mistake. In later and still well years, if he did bump into someone, he would hand them a card he had made letting the person know he was sorry and was a stroke survivor etc. He's told me stories about how cruel people were. Laughing, name calling, and so forth. A huge lack of compassion and kindness. Sometimes the card and apology would make things worse.
My mom added that people in a rush or sometimes not in a rush, would more often than not, be annoyed with them in places like lines, places where you load or unload people, grocery stores, and even the hospital.
So, I'm thinking about kindness today and every day. Kindness matters and everyone's moments matter.
People can be really seem or even just be mean in a multitude of ways. The least of us is the most of us. Be kind. Be respectful. Be Decent. If you are carrying around your issues while you are interacting with others, remember to stop and remember the other people are perhaps carrying around a big suitcase full of issues too. Be aware. Pause. Stop. Slow Down... whatever works to be considerate, kind and compassionate to others. People will be grateful for your kindness.
What do you think of this topic? Please leave a comment below. Has this happened to you or your loved ones? How are you kind to others? Feel free to add to or send me edits to this article too. I love it when someone has a quote or story they wish to add to something I write. If you see typos, just let me know. I'm still the typo queen and nobody is editing this for me.... :)
Love,
Elizabeth
About Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino
Elizabeth Hamilton Guarino is the CEO and founder of The Best Ever You Network and the CEO and Co-Founder of Compliance4. Elizabeth is a mom of four, bestselling author, business consultant, entrepreneur and a recognized leader in personal development and optimal mindset strategies. For more than 20 years, she’s been teaching entrepreneurs, athletes, educators, businesses, corporate leaders, and people from all walks of life how to illuminate their light within and help them reach their highest, best potential.
With a mixture of humor and grace, Elizabeth helps people root in gratitude, discover motivation and implement positive, lasting change. An expert in mentoring people to marketing their strengths and achieve brand excellence, she works with clients worldwide to illuminate their light within, develop their best life and become their Best Ever You with gratitude-based behavior and belief systems.
As the founder of The Best Ever You Network, she created a brand with more than a million followers and is on a mission to inspire you, to raise awareness and to promote greater excellence within each of us and in the world. Elizabeth has been featured on US News and World Report, Hay House Radio, Blogtalkradio, iHeart Radio, Playboy Radio, Huff Post Live, Fast Company, Start Up Nation, Sirius XM Canada, EZ Pass and many others.
Elizabeth’s book PERCOLATE – Let Your Best Self Filter Through (Hay House, 2014) has been called “charming” by Publisher’s Weekly, with “an ingenious extended coffee metaphor.” Guarino also ranks consistently as one of the top 40 social CEOs on Twitter and was just named a favorite by Oxford Said Business School in 2016. Her hashtags #BestEverYou and #TipstoBeYourBest are widely circulated. Visit ElizabethGuarino.com