Before you know kindness..you know pain...
The kindness I saw on the bus - the man helping the elderly woman sit down..
The money passes to the homeless man..
The food brought to her on the corner..
The pass of the hand for you to walk..
Before you know kindness you see pain or you see kindness given to you..
The sadness, the happiness..
Her letting you go home because you wanted to..
Her buying the circus tickets..
Her letting you switch seats so you could see..
Her giving you the last bite..
Is it kindess? Is it giving? Is it just them being them?
To be known as kind is a very special gift I think...
Being kind and gentle..
The gentle touch of his hand on your back..
The rubbing of your feet when you didn't even ask..
The dishes done and dinner made..
The laundry done, folded and put away..
The small things like berries in your cereal..
The lemonade he knows you like..
The way he waits for you without saying a word..
The sweet emails she writes..
THe encouraging words you hear..
The kind words, the kind gestures..
The call you get just because they were thinking of you..
The flowers dancing in the wind..
The guy at the bookstore who kept harassing me about the discount card - he wasn't kind, but I was trying to be..
The man at the cafe who gives up his seat for the blind man and dog. Does this happen all the time for this man? Does he know? Does he come here often?
The bus driver who drives away too soon..
The man without money..
The woman at home with her dying husband, her child, her mother, herself.
Kindness.
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Inspired by the poem "Kindness" by Naomi Shihab Nye