Kindness

Kindness can be defined as the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate. In today’s society kindness can be misinterpreted, for example people often believe that someone is kind in order to pursue their personal agenda. It is no longer believed that a person can be genuinely kind.

Non-profit organisation kindness.org aims to change this. They believe they can start a revolution to spread kindness around the world. Small finite acts that require little energy and no money such as smiling at a stranger can produce a domino effect with lasting impact. Such small acts are seemingly trivial but can actually be extremely meaningful and powerful. For example, making eye contact with a homeless person when walking down the street can help them feel less invisible. Smiling at a stranger who could be having a bad day could elevate their mood and in turn affect all the other people with whom they interact, from the coffee shop barista or taxi driver, to their friends and family. In fact, these types of positive interactions have shown to be particularly powerful from strangers, and the recipients perceive little agenda from the stranger (as they'll never see one another again) and accept the warm gesture openly.

If one person's kind act is to encourage others to pick up a piece of trash, and millions of people around the world hear the message, suddenly millions of pieces of trash would be off the streets. I once saw a bumper sticker that said "Think globally act locally." If that's what kindness.org aims to do with its kindness initiatives, and people helped spread their messages by broadcasting them via social media or email, the ripples that would ensue really could positively change the world.

You can follow the organization on Instagram or join initiatives such as Let Someone Go First and inform yourself more on their website. You can also watch their Social Experiment on YouTube.