"Be kind whenever possible.

It's akways possible."

- The Dalai Lama

I love this quote. Especially the part that “It’s always possible.” It’s tempting to think that kindness or empathy are just there for special moments or in certain circumstances.

The quote reminds me that kindness:


* Is always a good thing

* Is always possible

* Is always possible


I used to be a very shy person. I was scared of peoples negativity and judgement. What I discovered was that my silence was taken as my displeasure or judgement of them. To be kind meant I needed to find a way to express myself: to comment, to affirm, to smile.

How did I come to this? Through the kindness of others. When others were silent I would assume the worst. It is easy to read negativity into other’s silence. Crickets. Yech.

But when others met my shyness with kindness, when they made friendly space for me to come out a little, I discovered that they were different than I thought they were. No judging, no sideways eye-rolls, just curiosity.

And I discovered that could be more than I thought I was, that I could bring kindness into the world rather than be a passive receiver of it.

And that has made all the difference.

- Sky

PS - Thanks Tom and Michael for an inspiring workshop on writing notes!