Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.
-Barbara De Angelis

Today is Blog Action Day. For Blog Action Day 2008, nearly 10,000 bloggers have committed to writing on the topic of Poverty. [Update: The final count is 12,800 bloggers who had participated.] And, I am one of them.
Kindness In Rough Times
As many of us scale back our living standards and struggle to balance our [...]

When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better.
-Pauline R. Kezer

Sometimes thinking about kindness can be overwhelming. There is so much that could be done. There seems to be so much need in the world.
In Monday’s post, Kindness is not a Sacrifice, I said that “when suffering and scarcity exist, it affects us all in some way.” If this is true …
How can we [...]

There is only one real deprivation... and that is not to be able to give one's gifts to those one loves most.
-May Sarton

My son, Tristen, is at an age where he uses the phrase, “I want” frequently. At the same time, he’s also learning to share and do nice things for people.
Unlike most grownups, toddlers express their emotions openly. It is much easier to tell what they are feeling inside. Because of this, I can clearly see [...]

Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. on Wikipedia

There is more to kindness and generosity than the warm feeling it gives us in our hearts. When we give to others, we improve the conditions of the world in which we live.
When suffering and scarcity exist, it affects us all in some way. Whether close friends and relatives, neighbors in the same block, the [...]

Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius.
-Pietro Aretino

Here are some ideas to keep us warm and hopeful:

Decreased physical energy and dynamism are normal this time of year. Allow yourself to be restful, reflective and even somber from time to time. Give yourself permission to enjoy being wrapped in warm, cozy blanket on the couch with a cup of tea or hot cocoa [...]

Christmas is the gentlest, loveliest festival of the revolving year - and yet, for all that, when it speaks, its voice has strong authority.
-W.J. Cameron

At Christmas time, we all seem to take on bi-polar personalities. We find ourselves filled with passion and thrusting from extreme joy and excitement to extreme frustration and fear. Memories from the past bring warm nostalgic feelings and mournful sorrow. The gift giving tradition fills us with abundance, joy, apprehension and debt. Expectations are high, [...]

There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us. 'Tis good to give a stranger a meal, or a night's lodging. 'Tis better to be hospitable to his good meaning and thought, and give courage to a companion. We must be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture, which we are willing to give the advantage of a good light.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yesterday, I wrote about 7 Reasons to Practice Kindness. Here are 10 ways:

Smile at someone.
Listen.
Think about what you want more than anything, and offer it to someone else.
Volunteer your time.
Focus on others’ strengths and offer compliments and kind words.
Practice patience by allowing someone else get in front of you in a checkout line or in [...]

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