Acts of kindness, each and every day

Yesterday my daughters and I were on the bus. One of them was crying because as we ran to catch the bus she dropped a rock she had found earlier (and was planning on keeping forever and ever). Now it was gone forever and ever, and she knew it.

I apologized profusely for leaving the rock behind but explained there really was no going back. A woman who sat across from us suddenly handed my crying child a mini chocolate bar. And then her hand went back into her pocket and pulled out a second candy for my happy (and suddenly happier) child.

I don't know this woman and probably never will, but she was very quick to have compassion and I am grateful for her example and good heart.

Her example helped me to be a kinder mother and renewed my patience tank so that it lasted throughout the day. She made a difference.

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I began this blog because I struggle with anxiety and I have recently figured out some triggers that make the anxiety worse. Unkindness is one of them. Anger is another. Violence is yet another.

There are lots of things that I have learned to avoid when I don't want to feel anxious and powerless. The news and Facebook are two of the biggest. I can't control what other people say or do, but I can control what I say, what I do, and what I think about.

Enter: THIS BLOG. I want to focus on kindness. Compassion. I know that it's everywhere and happens all the time, and it's up to me to focus on it.

Yes, there are horrible things that happen every day, all over the world, and it is important to be involved and help the people around us. But it helps to remember that while violence and anger start somewhere, so do goodness and love.

And just like an earthquake starts at an epicenter and radiates its effects outward, I'd like to become my own epicenter of peace and compassion. I feel that one way for me to battle the anger and unkindness is to spread love.

I'm going to focus on the compassion that I see around me and then let it radiate from me, too.

Because—even in my little way—I want to help heal the world. I don't have the words or influence to change minds in big, fancy ways. And even if I did it would probably trigger my anxiety and leave me (feeling) pretty useless. But I can recognize the compassion around me, let it make a difference in my life, and then turn around and be compassionate to the people around me.