Kindness is a Lifestyle

A life without kindness would be a waste. I believe kindness is not just a trait or a value. It is a lifestyle that each one of us should adhere to. I’ve often heard people say they don’t owe the world anything. I believe they couldn’t be more wrong. As human beings, we owe the world kindness, gratitude, compassion, and humanity.

Kindness was ingrained into me by my mother. The first lesson she taught me was “Kindness”. She would use my siblings as an example and tell me they’d be happy if I were kind and shared my toys with them. Slowly, her lessons of kindness extended from the confines of our house to our society, and then they transcended the boundaries of nationalism.

So when I was given a challenge to complete 5 acts of kindness (Amalkindness) within 24 hours, I didn’t back down. However, one thing I realized was that you’ve to create opportunities to be kind because the world doesn’t hand them to you.

So here are my five acts of kindness that I observed within the last 24 hours.

"Who stole your heart?" I asked. The person pointed towards their cat and replied, "She did."

Cats are one of the most misunderstood animals. Yes, they’re moody, have strict boundaries, and would religiously hold a grudge against you but what everyone keeps forgetting is that they’re also the most loving, loyal, and sincere beings on this planet.

The stray cat that decided to love me a little

I was sitting in the sun, passing time between my classes when I saw this beautiful, golden-eyed stray coming towards me. I couldn’t turn away from her captivating eyes and beautiful fur shining golden in the sunlight.

But let me tell you, she was very mischievous. She kept rolling on my feet, and when I wasn’t looking, she started chewing my shoelaces! I didn’t scare her away. You might ask why. Well, because I was being kind to her. She was being kind to me by being playful, and it didn’t cost me anything to be kind to her and indulge in her shenanigans.

I tidied up my Parent’s Room

I tidied up my parent’s room. This is more of an act of gratitude than an expression of kindness. However, now that I think about it, gratitude does come in the realm of kindness. I believe this was an act of kindness after all.

I love doing little acts of service for my parents. They appreciate my acts of kindness. Their appreciation encourages me to extend my kindness to others.

My environment loves me & I love it back!

I was kind to my environment. I didn’t litter. Not even a little.

I’ve always been keen to give back to my environment because I believe our environment gives us a lot but rarely do we think of returning the favor.

Let me tell you, you can return the favor easily. There is one very easy way of returning the favor and it is by not littering.

A picture I took of the Bird of Paradise.

https://instagram.com/han__eea?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
You can find photographs more like this here

I made roti…

I made roti for my mama. I will not use flowery terms for this one, though I know this was an act of kindness but the dislike I have for making roti is far greater than my appreciation for the act.

I re-read and organized my Books

My books are my prized possession. I take great care of them. So, I decided to show myself kindness and organized my books. I color-coded them. Now my books look like a little rainbow.

I also started re-reading one of my favorite book titled “I’m from Nowhere”. It’s about a girl living a normal life and trying to find out where she belongs in this world. It’s an interesting, light read. @

The book I'm currently reading