Jan
25

When Kindness is Overwhelming

Categories:

Kindness

January 25, 2008

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 ever get past suffering and scarcity to be inspired?

We do this by reveling in our kind acts and focusing on what we can do and what we have done, not what we can’t do. We can recognize that there are people in need and that we are doing our part. We can express gratitude for the fortune in our lives by sharing that fortune with others, whether our fortune is in happiness, material wealth, knowledge or wisdom.

I can’t change the world, so why even try?

The fact is we can and do change the world. It is impossible to live on this Earth and not have some impact. The work we do, the interactions we have with others and each kind act has a ripple effect beyond our comprehension.

About the author

Danny

I am Danny Kohn, writer and designer for this site and owner, software engineer and consultant for Inspirations Software Design. My three greatest passions in life are sharing time with my family, software design and sharing inspiration with others. I have the incredible privilege of being able to spend a significant amount of time every day doing each of those three things. I am a single father of Tristen, our 6 year old son. It has been such an incredible joy to watch him grow up and learn so much. Everything he does and says overwhelms me with adoration. We have a wonderful evening ritual of reading books together in a beanbag chair. Nearly every night, we have a laughing attack together. I smile and giggle constantly in his presence and feel truly inspired.

Permanent link to this article: https://beinspiredeveryday.com/2008/01/25/when-kindness-is-overwhelming/

2 comments

AuthorMomWithDogs says:

January 28, 2008 at 9:17 am (UTC -5 )

Reply

I try to live with kindness as a state of mind rather than an “act.” Having it be part of my being makes it seem much less of a big deal and more natural to share.

I agree, it’s important to focus on what we can do, and realize that we do change the world with every act we take. The question is, is it for the better? It’s important to stay conscious of such things.

Great post.
Danny says:

January 28, 2008 at 9:33 am (UTC -5 )

Reply

AuthorMomWithDogs, excellent comment. Sometimes it seems much harder to change who/what we are than what we do. But our goal is, ultimately, to “become” rather than to “do.” Thanks for putting things into perspective.