―Charles de Lint
Today is the
last day of summer vacation. And so the
last day of our summer project on kindness.
As we prepared this weekend for the first day of school tomorrow, our
family talked about what we had learned.
One of my children said, "I learned that it makes other people feel
really good to know someone cares about them." Kindness is about connection.
What has been
most amazing to me is where an open heart can take you. In an earlier post, I shared the following
from an essay by Pablo Neruda:
To
feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life. But to feel the affection that comes from
those whom we do not know, from those unknown to us, who are watching over our
sleep and solitude, over our dangers and our weaknesses, that is something
still greater and more beautiful because it widens out the boundaries of our
being, and unites all living things.
That concept
of widening the boundaries of our being is what keeps running through my mind
in terms of our project on kindness. I
have learned about many facets of kindness, including surprising ones like
curiosity, courage and breathing. In
opening my heart, I have expanded my life -- the whole "boundaries of my
being" thing. I have become less
afraid of new things and new people.
In terms of
my children, my hope is that we have strengthened the habit of thoughtfulness
-- of thinking about how we can help, what someone else might be
feeling... I have noticed that they are
much more attentive to the everyday small kindnesses like holding a door and returning
the grocery carts. And the other day as
we walked by a car parked at an expired meter, my son asked for change.
Bottom line:
It has been a great deal of fun, in no small part because in opening our hearts,
we have learned and experienced so much.
I do believe there is magic in kindness.
And I think
that the Adventures in Kindness will continue.
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