I used to teach a little Sunday School class of ten year olds, and once taught a lesson about being kind to others. From that lesson on, and for the remainder of the year, I gave the children the opportunity at the start of class to talk about something they did to be kind to others during the previous week. I had a mother tell me that her son eagerly looked forward to finding opportunities to show kindness to others throughout the week as a result of that lesson and the weekly challenge. I remember some of the specific things he would share - seeking out a kid with no friends to join him during recess, etc. It was so rewarding to hear what they did that week, and feeling that they understand the joy of true kindness with pure intent. Of course, a lot of their kindness came naturally, but as they specifically focused on it and looked for new opportunities, they increased their kindness muscles and their awareness of opportunities to be kind.
I like having this conversation with children. What did you do to be kind to others? How was someone kind to you this week? I even shared one time I showed a kindness to someone else in a store (Costco), where he actually found me leaving the store 45 minutes and stopped to tell me, "You're a kind woman." I shared this with a class of about 40 kids not to brag, but to explain to them how good it felt to know that something that was so simple for me had been a significant kindness to another. It meant something to him, it warmed my heart, and I remember it almost a decade later.
I thought of this today as I read the news, and reflected on some of the kindness I have seen around me. Joseph Smith once wrote, "A man filled with the love God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race."
To celebrate kindness, here are two stories that I've been thinking about that inspired me recently - but the beauty of kindness is that when we pay attention, it's everywhere.
1. A man rescued a dog he found in the Salt Flats. He noticed the dog looked miserable - she had even lost her hair, she was in such poor shape - and took the dog to an animal rescue shelter. The rescue shelter took good care of this dog, then found her a good home. There are so many good samaritans in this story. Reading this story prompted me to write this blog post.
2. Team Hoyt inspires athletes to volunteer to push wheelchairs for other disabled adults and youth that want to experience the freedom of "flying" in their handicapped bodies. I talked about this in a recent post - sometimes we are criticized for serving others but at the end of the day, we will effect positive change if we stick with our beliefs.
There are three songs that I feel are very appropriate for a conversation around this:
One fun way to think about kindness is to sing these songs, and ask participants to count how many times they hear the word "love" or "kind" in each verse. Or, pass an item around the room and start singing the song. Every time the piano music stops, or if there is no pianist, every time the singing leader raises their hand, the song stops, and whoever is holding the item is asked to share one example of way they can show kindness to others, one way someone has shown kindness to them, or one way they have shown kindness to another.
I like having this conversation with children. What did you do to be kind to others? How was someone kind to you this week? I even shared one time I showed a kindness to someone else in a store (Costco), where he actually found me leaving the store 45 minutes and stopped to tell me, "You're a kind woman." I shared this with a class of about 40 kids not to brag, but to explain to them how good it felt to know that something that was so simple for me had been a significant kindness to another. It meant something to him, it warmed my heart, and I remember it almost a decade later.
I thought of this today as I read the news, and reflected on some of the kindness I have seen around me. Joseph Smith once wrote, "A man filled with the love God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race."
To celebrate kindness, here are two stories that I've been thinking about that inspired me recently - but the beauty of kindness is that when we pay attention, it's everywhere.
1. A man rescued a dog he found in the Salt Flats. He noticed the dog looked miserable - she had even lost her hair, she was in such poor shape - and took the dog to an animal rescue shelter. The rescue shelter took good care of this dog, then found her a good home. There are so many good samaritans in this story. Reading this story prompted me to write this blog post.
2. Team Hoyt inspires athletes to volunteer to push wheelchairs for other disabled adults and youth that want to experience the freedom of "flying" in their handicapped bodies. I talked about this in a recent post - sometimes we are criticized for serving others but at the end of the day, we will effect positive change if we stick with our beliefs.
There are three songs that I feel are very appropriate for a conversation around this:
One fun way to think about kindness is to sing these songs, and ask participants to count how many times they hear the word "love" or "kind" in each verse. Or, pass an item around the room and start singing the song. Every time the piano music stops, or if there is no pianist, every time the singing leader raises their hand, the song stops, and whoever is holding the item is asked to share one example of way they can show kindness to others, one way someone has shown kindness to them, or one way they have shown kindness to another.
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