Video Credit: Life Vest Inside
Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” Lao Tzu
One of the challenges I face when I travel abroad (especially to countries where English is not the first or official language) is the communication barrier. My experience in China two years ago was nothing short of a miracle. While moving around, I was able to get someone who could speak English (to direct me) in most of the places I visited. But in one instance, I spent over 45 minutes at Beijing Railway Station with no answer to a simple travel enquiry because of the language barrier.
Despite this, I have discovered that there are some ‘languages’ that are understood and accepted universally. Anywhere you find yourself across the globe, it is understood. Some of these languages are: smile, kindness and expression of love. Not only are they universally understood, they also return back to you in different forms. No act of kindness (irrespective of how or where you express it) is ever wasted. Can you imagine what the world would be like if we all extended kindness to others? Many marriages would be saved from divorce, troubled sibling relationships would be mended, broken societies would be restored.
I challenge you today to be an agent of kindness. You don’t need to be asked before you take the initiative. Be kind to others, especially those in need.
Dalai Lama once observed, “Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believe in rebirth or not, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t appreciate kindness and compassion.” Kindness breaks all human imposed barriers. It would be difficult and very rare to see kindness resisted or unaccepted. Kindness always prevails. It’s time to try the way of a genuine smile, compassion and kindness.