Sunday Brunch: A Year of Kindness

Welcome to Sunday Brunch – a weekly blog column by Melissa A. Bartell celebrating random acts of kindness and other positive things. It’s all part of Jumping into 2012.

Just one small leap to
kindness
lights your soul…
just one small touch of care.
Sometimes,
when the walls are crumbling,
your debts have debts to pay,
your health is shuddering,
your heart is breaking
and your spirit is just overwhelmed…
just one smile
will build a temple
from your teardrops,
just one hug
will raise cathedrals
from your heartache
and
one little leap to kindness
lights your soul

When the Universe talks, it’s best to listen. Over the past several months, the universe has been sending me messages about Kindness.

First, it was my friend Todd Tyrtle (who will be our Man on Monday tomorrow) and his 500 Kindnesses project. Then it was my friend Carmi Levy, a long-time blog buddy (and a previous Man of the Moment) who introduced me to the Jewish concept of “Tikkun Olam” – “Repair the World.”

Or maybe those weren’t the first voices, after all, because my grandmother used to remind us all, “A gift of the hand is a gift from the heart,” and isn’t it an act of kindness when you give something of yourself to make another person feel better?

I come from a family of activists. My relatives are teachers, writers, thinkers, and entrepreneurs. We all lead busy lives, but if a friend needs help, we give it – we OFFER it – and when we need help, we try to accept it with grace.

Knowing this, then, perhaps these most recent voices, including the voice of my friend John Hulme, who penned the poem above, are merely that – the most recent reminders, the loudest urgings, to practice Kindness as if it was a religion. And isn’t it a tenet of all religion, really? Love one another? Be subject to one another? All that.

So I’m challenging myself, and all of you, to practice Kindness this year. Practice it the way you practice yoga or tap dancing or meditation. Make it a part of your breath. Don’t worry about the size or scope of your Kindness practice, though. Do something small: Help a kid tie their shoes. Give your dog an extra walk. Let the guy with a single loaf of bread go ahead of you in the grocery store checkout.

A gift of the hand may be a gift from the heart, but an act of kindness is a gift to the world.

Poem by John Hulme, used with permission. Do you have a good story about Kindness? Email Melissa with suggestions for Sunday Brunch mentions.