“Love and kindness are the very basis of society. If we lose these feelings, society will face tremendous difficulties; the survival of humanity will be endangered.”– The Dalai Lama

       It is said that “love makes the world go round”, but what makes healthy love possible is healthy relationships, and healthy relationships are built on kindness. Kindness from others makes us feel appreciated and “special”, and everyone likes to feel special.

Only kindness makes this experience possible.

Kindness is like a special type of magic, for only kindness can melt angry hearts and soothe hurt feelings. Kindness can lift up the depressed and give hope to those who feel hopeless. By training I am a psychologist and have spent years working in the field of suicide prevention. I’ve actually had a number of patients tell me they had every intention of completing suicide but changed their mind because of an act of kindness by a stranger. Usually the life-saving act of kindness was a simple smile or greeting such as ‘good morning’ or ‘hi’. This small little act of kindness prevented a tragedy.

Kindness can literally be life saving as well as life-changing.

Only kindness is this powerful. People of all ages and from every religion and culture craves kindness from others, even if it’s only a simple acknowledgement or a smile. Kind acts can calm the angry and soften hardened hearts. After the Civil War grieving war widows and mothers of dead soldiers put bitterness aside and decorated the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers. This simple act helped bind up the wounds of the republic and began the process of coming together as one country. This simple kindness extended toward the former enemy helped a war-ravaged nation begin to heal.

— Ron Hill