Kindness

by Tesha Karnchanakphan March 4, 2016

Who doesn’t love witnessing acts of kindness? Whether it be found on YouTube, witnessed on the streets, observed on the bus, or even in a movie.

Ever heard the following? :

Kind hearts are the gardens,  

Kind thoughts are the roots,  

Kind words are the blossoms,  

Kind deeds are the fruits.  

A little something something from the 9th century that was used to remind primary school children to be nice to each other. Cheesy, but hits home.

Kindness usually doesn’t buy you a Maserati or anything, but it does help you achieve emotional connection. And that has got to be where happiness lies- knowing you belong, knowing you have a purpose.

The older and more travelled I become, the more I notice how isolationistic we are in America. Car to cubicle to fenced house over and over again. In this type of cycle when does one get a chance to lend a helping hand to a stranger on the street, feed a stray dog, offer up a seat on crowded form of public transportation? The opportunity to be kind is just not there. Therefore the opportunity to connect is just not there. Could this be the cause of our infamous Prozac Nation?

I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma where car to cubicle to fenced house was the daily cycle for all. Luckily, my parents were able to take us to Thailand to visit our relatives year after year where not just our family was so incredibly connected, but the country as a whole. Everyone was part of everyone and it just made Oklahoma that much more drab. Imagine that.