Demonstrations of Kindness

One of our community spiritual practices is sharing demonstrations; evidence of how this stuff actually works in our lives.

This week we’re sharing how our core community value of kindness is showing up in our lives.

• Rita: This week I went to the park and at some point, I realized that I had lost my license. I looked everywhere around the house, back at the park, spent a lot of time thinking about it, and then I finally just gave up and decided that it was out of my control. Then I had this feeling to go outside and look next to the side door. There it was on the ledge. Somebody had found my license and brought it back to me.

• Dale: I have to practice kindness to myself in order to practice kindness outside of myself. I'm sitting on what is an emotional mountain of upset and rather than deal with the other people it involves, I am being very kind and thoughtful with myself so that when it is time to speak with the people who I'm upset with, I will do it in a way that is healthy and appropriate for everybody.

• Clint: It's a kindness to me as a music lover to be here in this church today that despite the technology challenges just flowed right into something real and grounded musically. That was really nice. It's a kindness to me, a gentle kindness to be in this room enjoying that kind of thing.

• Harry: Lily's daughter came over yesterday and one of the things she did was laundry. And I do laundry a lot more the way Lily wants it done than her daughter does so this morning I got up and finished all the laundry; I washed it and dried it and brought it back upstairs, thus making everybody a lot happier. Lily, because the laundry's done the way she wants it and Lily's daughter who doesn't know it yet, because now she’s not gonna get a lot of grief because the laundry's already done.

• Rev. Jenna: It appears that in the last two weeks another neighbor has effectively given one of their child's toys out to the neighborhood. And it's just interesting to see this continuing.

• Rev. Frank: I work out of town and my husband was very kind to have dinner waiting for me when I got home. He also gave me all the mail I needed to deal with so I did not have to run the house for it; that's kindness to me.

• MaryAnne: during my walk a neighbor was coming toward me and we had had a conversation a while ago about my getting into an exercise program and it was kindness on her part to remember and ask me how I was doing. It was really kind of her because she was really interested in all the different things that I'm doing trying to start a whole new routine. Her kindness meant a lot to me.

• Rev. Frank: I have one more. I was at the grocery store yesterday and encountered this guy with his wife, his son and their dog. He extended the kindness of letting me to pet his dog.

• Rebecca Beall: my neighbor brings my trash can in every week and takes care of the leaves in front of my house.

• Karen: I was really kind to the young woman who totally screwed up in the emergency room.

• Chris: my two neighbors bringing me supplies while I have COVID.

So in summary, in a world where you can be anything, just be kind. Just be kind. If you gotta choose one thing to be, be kind.