CTeenConnection

Chesed: Kindness

What is kindness?

Kindness can be anything; opening the door for someone, giving back to your community, showing that you care about a friend, family member, or even a stranger. To me, kindness is all about how you can affect another person. Using small acts of kindness, you’re are able to make that person either smile, happy , and feel good about themselves. It doesn’t take a lot to be kind.

What role does kindness play in my life?
Kindness has influence what I do and how I treat people. To me showing a kindness to another person is not only something I do for someone else, but something I do for myself too. We never know what someone might be going through. Maybe being the person who makes them smile can change everything about their day, year, or even their life.

Can kindness be negative, positive or both?
Being kind can be very positive, there is so much good that comes out of kindness, but can too much kindness can be a bad thing. Yes, we should be kind to others, but sometime, maybe we should limit how kind you should be. Just like a lot of things in life, there has to be a limit to how far you can go before it becomes too much. When you become too kind it can get overwhelming.

When I was in sixth grade, I learned a lesson on kindness that has stuck with me ever since. My sixth grade teacher shared her idea on kindness, which I believe falls in line with the Jewish belief on kindness too. She said: “You never know what a person’s day has been. They could be dealing with problems with family, maybe their going through a tough time emotionally. Whatever it is, you should treat that person with kindness. That one ounce of kindness could change a person’s life.

Chesed, Kindness, should be an important factor in each and everyone of our lives. How will you be kind today?