"The point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on."– Julia Alvarez
Well, Penny, since you're dealing with other things in your life right now, I figured I'd help you keep up this wonderful, amazing and inspirational blog. (I get quotes delivered right to my email inbox every day, so I'm happy to pinch hit for you now!)
There were other quotes I could have chosen, but this quote had a bit of synchronicity to its relevance -- I was talking to my friend's husband the other day about this concept of passing on kindness. He and I both come from incredibly dysfunctional families and we have experience unkindness from relatives in the past. What's so wonderful about the present though, is that my friend, her husband and her son have all embraced me as family, as I have done with them.
Anyway, Joe and I were agreeing on this point of passing on kindness -- it's no skin off your nose when you do, and it'll probably make you feel better when it's done. How come so many people don't understand that concept? Is it a lack of compassion for others? Is it that we are all so focused on what we can get out of life, rather than what we can give? Or is it just that not enough people have seen the movie "Pay It Forward"?
Well, whatever it is, it doesn't really matter to me. I'm going to pass on kindness, as altruistically as I am capable of, whenever the opportunity arises, regardless of what others are doing around me. Unfortunately Joe sometimes gets upset over the troubles of the world, but I know the sun is still shining above the clouds on a rainy day (I've been on flights that actually prove this phenomenon). Maybe Joe's faith in the limitless potential of the universe is obscured by the news or maybe his philosophy on life is a bit too bleak for my tastes... that doesn't matter either since I don't compare myself to others anymore. I can only look at who I am today, who I was yesterday, and who I want to become tomorrow.
I have had an enormous amount of kindness paid to me over the years... from many, many people (including my very dear friend Lilyane, who has been there with a helping hand at some very crucial moments in my life). How do I repay my debt of gratitude to all those people? It's simple -- become capable, through the help of those friends, to share kindness to others around me who are in need of kindness. And since "kindness" may take on many forms, I allow myself to be compassionate enough to act according to the uniqueness of each individual.
Penny, this is but one way for me to repay my debt of gratitude, and I thank you for the opportunity to pass on this kindness to your readers!
