Being in Lubbock, TX, I find most people I encounter being so kind, courteous, and friendly. Yesterday at work, a female student came to my coworker’s counter so she can pay for her food. However, my coworker went to use the restroom and left a sign on her line that says “This register is CLOSED.” I told her right away that I can help her and take her payment since my register is next to my coworker. The female student gave me a mean look, looked at the sign then proceeded to take it and said, “Then why is this thing here?” She then placed the sign on the other counter, which was about two yards away from me. One of my managers saw the entire thing that she grabbed the sign and placed it back to where it was before. Though this female student was quite rude, I still maintained my composure and simply thought being kind and helpful. My manager, on the other hand, came up to me and said, “Did you see that? How rude! She’s so lucky I am not in a bad mood right now or else I could have told her off.” At that moment, I felt that it is still important to be kind to others even though they are rude or not in the mood.

Certainly, there are times when I want to be rude to those who are rude to me. However, I would like to be treated well by others as how I would treat them too. Every time I am being threatened to be unkind to others, knowing that kindness is a choice comes to mind. We need to choose to be kind even though our natural tendency might often be to argue with or unkind to others. We have a choice. We can choose to be kind. Choose to get along with others. Choose to spread kindness.

What about those who likes to pick fights with you? Those who spread rumors about you? Those who are simply unkind to you? I feel that even in these instances, we should choose kindness. I feel that those who do those things might want to be acknowledged, to be noticed, to be accepted, or to be loved. We should choose kindness because all of us face different kinds of battles. All of us tries to overcome the many difficulties life has to offer. If we try to put ourselves in the “shoes” of those who are unkind to us, we might be able to understand them more.

Indeed, kindness can be seen in many forms. Helping an elderly carry groceries, protecting those who are abused, guiding a younger sibling, donating goods, giving food to the hungry – these are some of the many acts of kindness. As Mark Twain once said, “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

Kindness goes a long way!

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