Look for the Kindness
It’s easy to get discouraged these days, especially when dealing with news and social media. We are bombarded with stories of bad behavior, cruelty, and greed. One minute you’re getting cut off in traffic and the next you’re hearing about an unscrupulous politician using the weak and vulnerable to scare people into supporting their self-serving agenda.
I often have to remind myself that there is kindness happening all around me, and I get to choose where I focus my attention. Like Mr. Rogers famously said, “Look for the helpers.” Someone holding a door for a stranger, a driver waving another car into traffic, a person saying “excuse me” as they pass in the store. These small moments of kindness can add up to a lot of good feelings.
At the beginning of the year I like to remind everyone to look for kindness and grace. Any group that we see perform has been fighting battles and obstacles which we can never know about. But they appear on the floor and work to share their best with us. By assuming that people are doing their best, we can focus on the good in others and shift our attention to the effort for good, rather than the issues that may have yet to be resolved.
I encourage you to return and listen to some wonderful conversations we have had over the last few years as people have struggled and we’ve stopped to consider our point of view.
Webinar conversation with Shirley Dorritie: A Season of Grace
Podcast 953: A Season of Grace
Podcast 1028: Why This Fall Must Be a Season of Grace
Listen again and be inspired. Shift your focus and time away from negative news and critical social media posts. Find the kindness all around you and put your attention there. You’ll have a better day.
Tim Hinton
January 8, 2023
