Written Acts of Kindness

You hear about Acts of kindness All the time – Someone who didn't Have to do anything at all But decided to do Something nice, Without any need for Recognition or recompense, Put others above Himself or herself. Human beings have an amazing Ability to do kind Things for each other, It's possible for us to Move past the pettiness That arises from selfishness And self-interest and Live instead with love and Compassion, to stop competing And start collaborating, Building a kind world together.

It's easy to Become discouraged To think that there's Nothing that can be Done about all the Discord and strife Occurring around us, That all there is to do Is withdraw and hope It eventually goes away, But I'm here to tell you That we can move past All this garbage If kind-hearted people Find the courage to Speak up when cruelty and Injustice arise and Let everyone know that There is another path, That we all can look Deep inside, Heal what hurts, And move in a Kind direction.

I've often wondered why people settle for living in fear, anger, misery, and hopelessness. As a poet, I explore the human condition and challenge the notion that we have to cater to our basest instincts, where all we do is fight each other for food and resources. Human beings have shown time after time that they're capable of much more than self-interest, greed, and cruelty. Think of all the wonderful people who behave with generosity, gentleness, and compassion, helping their fellow men and women without any need for recognition or compensation. It happens all the time. Why not make that the standard for human behavior instead of shrugging our shoulders and saying that things will never change? People are capable of being kind and building a world of love and compassion. We have the ability to use our wonderful brains and hearts to help each other thrive. If enough of us speak up for kindness, we can shift the conversation in that direction. Help me create a kindness movement

Being kind isn't that hard, It just means leaving The hurt, anger, and fear Behind, replacing it with Moments of selflessness: A smile, hug, Reassuring word, Helping hand, Softness, gentleness. We've convinced ourselves That kindness is corny, A sign of weakness, When it is the very thing That can change the world, Making it a better place For everyone.

There really are only two basic ways to live your life: with fear or with love. If you live with fear, you will always mistrust others, limit your ability to grow, worry about danger, or dread the next calamity that might befall you. Living with fear makes you contract and become closed off to all the wonderful opportunities around you. Instead of enjoying life, you'll waste time worrying about what you can't do or need to avoid rather than what is possible. Living with love is an entirely different experience. When you feel, think, and behave with love, the whole universe is open to you. There's nothing you can't do when you love yourself and others. Instead of contracting, you grow and thrive. Love feeds your inner self and guides you on a positive path. Also, love just feels much better than fear. Love and kindness are intimately linked. In order to be kind you have to have the ability to love yourself and others. Doing nice things for people or the world in general

So many walking in circles This misused, fragile cafe limestone Sleep deprivation in a party hat with nowhere to go and nothing to do Go on now, they tell you lies “Do not look back” “You have no business with the welfare of others” It is up to us to prove them wrong

In one of my past lives as a corporate trainer, people would stare at me blankly when I suggested that we can actually create kind workplaces. So ingrained is the idea of a harsh, competitive, survival-of-the-fittest world, that we forget that these are human constructs. But things don't have to be this way, we can build any kind of world we want based on our actions. With that in mind, here are fifteen things you can do to create a kinder world: Smile at people. Do something nice for someone without expecting anything in return. Praise another person. Compete less and find ways to collaborate. Say something nice to someone you don't really get along with. Listen to someone without talking. Tell someone how important they are to you. Go to therapy and heal your hurts so you can be a kind to yourself and others. Love more and hate less. Spend time with someone who doesn't have a lot of company. Volunteer somewhere that benefits the less fortu

Every day, we open our eyes and often the first sound we hear is a report of something sad, or heartbreaking. The world we live in is far less kind than many of us would have it, though there is a subtle movement gaining speed, and I want so very much to be a part of it. That movement is toward kindness, away from sarcasm, coldness, or so-called "snark". There was a time when “snark”, or as I prefer to call it, “meanness”, crept into my being in ways I didn’t even realize. It was before my diagnosis with Bipolar disorder, before I went blind and then was fortunate enough to regain some use of my vision through six trying surgeries. It was before a lot of things. Before my grandmother’s death. Before my father's cancer. When I was younger, in more of a hurry to do everything quickly, and sometimes mistook snarkiness for wit or intelligence. Snark has been portrayed for years as the hip or cool way to be, and for a time I guess I fell into the trap of believing it. In the y

How do you show kindness to others? There are so many ways to be kind to our fellow human beings and I am reminded of a time when I was teaching English classes for a wonderful group of people. The class was for parents of low-income children in a nondescript building right by a highway. We would gather twice a week and the students would eagerly practice their new language skills. I was always moved by their enthusiasm. At times they would share stories about their lives, often punctuated with hardship, but they never lost their optimistic glow. I remember about halfway through the class they all decided that it would be fun to have a potluck, so we did. They all brought in delicious dishes from many countries and we all had a great time talking about all kinds of things. The thing that struck me is that these people had very little material wealth but were imbued with great kindness and generosity. They created a lovely family in that classroom, celebrating their common humanity. I h

How a word, one single word becomes a bridge. Or the first moving to thaw for a tundra life. How a simple phrase illuminates a stage that was dark, sharing a single line, over and until the close.

He grew up in A family where His voice was Routinely crushed, Belittled, ignored, But he resolved to Not perpetuate what He had gone through. Today he sits down With his daughter, Listening intently To her stories, Telling her how Wonderful they are, Smiling joyfully, Starting a new Cycle of kindness.

Kindness examples: Helping someone in need without expecting anything in return. Giving someone a hug. Saying something nice to another human being. Saying "I love you" more often. Supporting other people's dreams. Having empathy for someone else's suffering and doing something about it. Sharing. Working hard to build a world where everyone is treated well. Advocating for peace and love. Standing up for the less fortunate. Treating others with kindness. Using supportive, encouraging language when talking with others. Listening without talking. Smiling freely. Being soft. Being gentle. Letting people sing with their own voices. Being happy for others' successes. Caring for the well-being of all people. Healing your inner hurts so you can treat yourself and others well. Following your bliss and helping others do the same. Leaving the world better off than when you were in it. Living with love. What

She was 93, had a lot of reasons to be happy. The neighbors helped her walk around and buy groceries. Her son and grandchildren visited her frequently, spending quality time with her She was in good health, no diabetes or high blood pressure. Her son took care of her bills, kept food on the table. She never forgot to thank her friends who still visit her. She had enough to run a small school for village girls From what she saved from her son’s help.

Are we not all on this journey together? Don’t we all have our struggles and pain? Or do we think that somehow we are better, When the truth is we all are the same. We all have a story we carry inside, We all have a life of our own. We all have our shames and our secrets we hide, And we’ve all had our moments alone. In the end we’re just human, with a heart and a soul, A truth that together we share. So why do we see the worst in each other, Instead of the reasons to care? Let's stop judging each other by just what we see, And search for the story within, Let's not stop at the place where the struggle is done, But care where it all first begins.

The years have passed by In the blink of an eye, Moments of sadness And joy have flown by. People I loved Have come and have gone, But the world never stopped And we all carried on. Life wasn’t easy And the struggles were there, Filled with times that it mattered, Times I just didn’t care. I stood on my own And still found my way Through some nights filled with tears And the dawn of new days. And now with old age It’s become very clear That what I once found important Was not why I was here. And the many things That I managed to buy Were never what made me Feel better inside. And the worries and fears That plagued me each day, I knew in the end Would just fade away. But how much I reached out To others when needed Would be the true measure Of how I succeeded. And how much I shared Of my soul and my heart Would ultimately be What set me apart. And now what’s important Is my opinion of me And whether or not I’m the best I can be. And how much more kindness And love I can show Before life

Over many years of designing and facilitating workshops and coaching people to treat themselves and each other well, I've encountered a lot of individuals who don't believe in kindness, a perspective usually stemming from their own experiences growing up. When you're raised in a household where all you're taught is that the world is harsh and you better toughen up or, worse yet, you're belittled, humiliated, or abused in some way, you tend to come out of that environment with all kinds of negative and even irrational views. The wonderful thing I've noticed is that human beings, regardless of their backgrounds can begin healing and believing in kindness at any time. It can be a difficult process, often requiring therapy, but people have an amazing capacity to heal. Even the angriest, most hurt person can move in the direction of gentleness and happiness. Much of people's anger and hatred comes from feeling worthless deep inside, they don't care about them

I used to design and facilitate workshops to help leaders build kind workplaces and I'd often encounter puzzled looks and comments such as: "You can't be kind and get results," or "If you're kind people will take advantage of you," and even "Kindness is weakness." These types of perspectives made me sad but I understood where they came from. So many people come from backgrounds where kindness was scarce, absent, or where they never heard a gentle word of encouragement or experienced a loving smile. These same people go out into the workforce and treat each other as they were treated when they were growing up. I've also worked with many individuals and families in distress and, almost to a person, they would tell me stories about how they were never loved, were treated with brutality, or simply ignored. They didn't know what it was like to have someone love them for who they are and treat them with kindness and care. Many people told me

If I could float on cotton clouds, I'd sprinkle stardust as I go to soften an angry, hardened world to brighten hearts that've grown cold. If I could soar on Eagles' wings, or sail on red-glaring rockets, I would drizzle dawn's early light and cast amber seeds of Kindness.

I was walking down the street And I saw a lady give a blanket To an old man In a wheelchair She wrapped it Around his body He was overwhelmed And started crying, she hugged him. I was happy to see them smile I resolve to do the same I imagine myself in her shoes.

I will take off my boots and place my bare soles on the earth In restless gratitude For all that has passed and All that is on promise A softer walk From now on With all beings A shared life energy Know how much I cherish How I hold amazement Every waking moment This my path To be shared

It’s a miracle to love someone so much that what is asked is offered So long as it’s good So long as it profits Loving people is about seeing their potential or recognizing the root that connects all Amazing kindness and generosity that’s hard to fathom impossible to replicate A gift to be appreciated.

What is kindness? It's healing yourself So you are able to Empathize with others, It's extending a Helping hand, Offering a caring word To alleviate Someone else's pain, It's thinking and doing Things that bring Us all together, Making the world A more gentle place, Understanding that We're all part of The same story.

He didn't have anywhere To go for the holiday, He never did, So when he received An invitation by mistake, From a person he Had never met, He gladly accepted And showed up at The stranger's house Where he was greeted Not as an intruder, But as someone to be Treated with kindness, Part of the family.

You cleared a field where my thoughts refused to grow and scattered a handful of verbs, dispersed some “revive” and “recall” with the wildflower blend, thinned the teeming rows of Sweet William when the seedlings sprouted tenses. Now I return in the hour after sunrise to tend a thousand forming phrases, I gather a trillion transformed words. ----- Claudine Nash is an award-winning poet whose collections include The Wild Essential (Kelsay Books, 2017) and Parts per Trillion (Aldrich Press, 2016) as well as the chapbook The Problem with Loving Ghosts (Finishing Line Press, 2014). Her work has received Pushcart Prize nominations and has appeared in a wide range of publications including Asimov’s Science Fiction, BlazeVOX, Cloudbank, Haight Ashbury Literary Journal, and Dime Show Review. She is also a practicing psychologist.

I imagine a world with no sadness No pain or disease No stress or anxiety No competition or jealousy I want everyone to help one another I wish all good forces would unite Through our unity we can shower the world with positive energy Life’s too short to fight over everything Let’s unite and find common ground. You may call me foolish But that’s the world I want to live in.

Child never asks elephant about the days of the carnival Elephant never asks what child is doing wandering out here Together, they are simply two roving creatures Child in awe at the magnificence of elephant Elephant ponders the greatness of child's tears Child knows better than to ever ask to ride elephant choosing, with short legs, the walk instead Elephant respects when child needs to stop for time alone Two moving all across the earth Then again, again Each an every night child kisses elephant's head Curled up together and fully understood Child and elephant sleep.

Finding myself in a Difficult situation with A person who only cared About power and control, And who wouldn't think twice About negatively impacting My well-being as long as Her needs were met; Flailing uncomfortably, No one offering a helping hand, No one caring about my plight; But one person did, Even though she didn't have to, Coming in and gently Shifting the whole situation In a direction that Allowed me to breathe, A wonderful person who Saw an injustice and Did something about it.

Kindness is possible. Here's how I know it: Right at this moment, all over the world, people are doing things that are wonderfully kind, even when it means that they have to give up something in order to help someone else. At this very instant, countless people are doing nice things for others for no reason other than simply to be kind. Human beings possess the ability to be deeply and genuinely kind to each other and the world around them. So why is it we don't live in this state of being all the time? It's because certain people have something to gain by disrupting or denying kindness, often because of inner issues that force them to be greedy, jealous, petty, or lust for power, even if it means hurting someone else. I contend that these are aberrations that can be healed, that human beings have a boundless capacity to do good rather than harm one another. So how do we do it? We literally change the culture. Think of the power of millions or billions of people advocating

After many years Atop the corporate ladder, At the expense of many Unfortunate, and often Unsuspecting, people, He sat down one day and Reflected on what he had to Show for his life other Than ostentatious material wealth And countless glittery objects, Pretty on the outside Sad on the inside. He took some simple steps That filled him with a joy He had not felt, perhaps in His entire life, The feeling that comes from Doing nice things for others, Adding to the compassion in the world Rather than heartlessness. Kindness is always there Waiting patiently to Share its gifts.