The World Could Use More Kindness
Today feels like the first brick in the foundation of this project. I have a killer line-up of books I curated for this project (honestly, probably a few too many), but what the hell, Right?
The book I chose to start with is called “ A Year of Living Kindly.”
I wanted to curate my own personal almanac for self-expansion and growth… or should I say “Glowth”? 😉
I appreciate how it starts. Defining the difference between kindness and being nice. Something we usually forget. Nice is fine, but it’s safe… it doesn’t cost much. I catch myself defaulting to “nice” pretty often. I’m polite, agreeable, and often shrinking to fit whoever I’m in front of at that moment. It keeps everything smooth, but it also keeps me small. And that really is the point of this whole entire blog. Taking up space, living in authenticity rather than behind masks of conformity.
This is me allowing myself to stretch into the kind of “kindness” that feels real to me. Even if that means I won’t always be comfortable sitting in it, in that moment. I know I will feel so much better when I leave that situation.
Less Nice. More Kind. More Space.
My takeaways from the first chapter…
- Kindness and niceness are not the same thing.
- Niceness keeps the peace, but it also keeps me small.
- Kindness asks me to extend myself – which means presence, effort, and sometimes discomfort.
- I default to “polite” too often, and it feels safe, but it’s not who I want to be long term.
- Stretching into genuine kindness might feel awkward in the moment, but it leaves me lighter when I walk away.
So …today, my thoughts are these.
What you put into something shows up in the results. If you approach a project, conversation, or even a simple daily task with frustration, that energy tends to stick. But if you take a breath, focus, & repeat to yourself what it is you want out of it, I believe, you’ll notice how much more powerful and meaningful it becomes.
If I show up guarded, I stay small. If I show up open, I leave lighter.
Return to rituals
The second book I’m using in this series, at least for now, is called “The Rituals” by Natalie MacNeil.
I can appreciate the overlap in this book with what I am reading in Living Kindly. I am a creature of habit. Becoming more so, the further into my 30s I reach.
Both ask me to slow down, get out of autopilot. Ask anyone close to me, that makes me uncomfortable. Change makes me uncomfortable.
This blog makes me uncomfortable. LoL. I don’t like wearing my heart on my sleeve anymore. But I have also noticed that when I do, beautiful things happen. Friendships, personal growth, new opportunities…
“Kindness is a strength, a superpower that has the capacity to transform lives and change the world.” – Donna Cameron
So, day 365 & counting down… Here is to showing up real, even when it is awkward, even when I don’t want to… (maybe that’s when I should the most) & Here is to moving intentionally through today.
Happy Tuesday, friends. I hope it’s a great one!
xox. C
