Kindness is What???
Lazareth S. Porquin
Delaware Technical Community College If you ask what kindness means, the first thing that everyone thinks of is nice and kind. Just saying, “You are nice and kind,” isn’t the right way to use kindness. For kindness refers to being friendly, generous, and considerate. Over time, the true meaning behind kindness has somewhat been lost. Denotatively, kindness means “As a state or quality of being kind (act, behavior) friendly feeling.” Some of the synonyms listed are “hospitality, good intention, thoughtfulness”. The first time that kindness came to be known was in the year 1250 (13th century) where it was used as “Courtesy, Noble deed”. Since things change over time, I decided to ask a few people
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I decided to ask my other friend Hamidah, (African) what it meant to her. Her reply was,“A nice gesture or act without any reason behind it.” (H.S. personal communication, January 29, 2016) To me this sounded very “manifest” of the word kindness and so very true. There shouldn’t be any reason to doing things, you should just do it because you know that its helping someone out and it makes you happy on the inside that you did it.
For my final interview, I wanted to ask someone outside of my family circle, I decided to ask someone that is always working in the community and with all kinds of people what it meant to him. He is Hispanic (Puerto Rican) and a police officer. As he was rubbing his head and saying, “um” he thought it over. Then he said, “When you see an elder trying to cross the street and you help him get a cross, that is kindness.” (R. Flores. personal communication, January 28,
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After thinking of what everyone said and thinking about the definition to kindness, I would have to say that I agree with everyone, for me the word kindness means is a gesture that comes from within and benefits that person in some way, you can’t buy it or found it out on the street. There doesn’t have to be a reason as to why you do it but because you know it’s the right thing to do. You never know. You might make a person’s day better or make a change for that person like my definition with a little bit of everyone else in it. So if next time to you see someone having a hard time, take a moment to help them. You never know when you might need it and someone does the same for
The virtue of kindness is not meek it is not niceness. Kindness holds firm to its foundation and values, but it does it in a way that is gentle. Kindness is not naïve, it is wise and discerning (Corey, 211). People confuse being nice as kindness because on the outside both are soft. The inside is what shows the difference. Niceness has no substance, it will go wherever society takes it. Kindness is different, it has a firm, solid center (Corey xv). The components of soft edges and firm centers make kindness warm and inviting and yet it remains deeply rooted to its core beliefs.
It’s very simple, but creates a world of difference. This means so much to me, in so many ways. Kindness will make a person feel better, even if they aren’t that way themselves. I’ve seen the change simple kindness can make. It can change the outlook on someone’s life, or give someone a little hope.
Kindness is something America had and something that we lost. We can be so kind to someone yet the next day be so cruel to them. Like what happened in the story With a Little Help From my Friends by Firoozeh Dumas. In a quote from the passage “We remember the kindness more than ever, knowing that our relatives who immigrated to this country after the Iranian Revolution did not encounter the same America.” ( Dumas pg 92)
“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see” – Mark Twain.
Kindness can really make a difference in a person's attitude. In “A Christmas Carol”, the Cratchits and Scrooge's nephew Fred show kindness to Scrooge, even though Scrooge showed quite the opposite to them. Or in “Thank you M’am”, when Ms. Jones makes Roger food and gives him money to buy his shoes, instead of reporting him to the police. Even in “Little Things Are Big”, when Jesus decides to help people even if he has to face prejudism. These stories all show turning points, and these examples show
I had just gotten off a plane to visit my grandmother in Florida and an elderly woman had been a passenger on the same plane. In this specific airport, there are small subway trains that take the passengers to the baggage area. All seats had been filled by the time this woman made it to the subway train. She looked around and found that no seats were available, but a young man behind her stood up and offered his seat to her. She gave the young man a big smile and thanked him for such a nice act of kindness. The fact that he was willing to stand so this woman could sit down was very polite and not only made the woman happy, but I had a smile on my face,
Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner provides incredibly valuable insight into the intertwining concepts of identity and personal happiness, as does A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews. Undeniably, a healthy cognisance of personal identity is crucial to mental tranquility and happiness. Insecurity, for example is unilaterally viewed as an unsettling character flaw precisely because of the inherent implication of untrue personal identity. Accurately understanding one’s true personal identity is the backbone of happiness, as seen in The Kite Runner and A Complicated Kindness. Furthermore, it can be said that personal flaws, strengths and collectivist mentalities surrounding both Amir and Nomi’s characters ultimately contribute to their respective happiness or lack thereof, at the end of both stories.
Strassmair (2009) also showed that the people who benefit fully from the perceived kindness or the costly action of others does not spoil the benefit for them or induce any negative emotion such as guilt. This kindness received from others is also given great significance by the receiver of the kind act (Macdonald, Liben, Carnevale, Rennick, Wolf, Meloche, & Cohen, 2005).
“Sometimes it 's easy to walk by because we know we can 't change someone 's whole life in a single afternoon. But what we fail to realize it that simple kindness can go a long way toward encouraging someone who is stuck in a desolate place.” ~ Mike Yankoski
People perpetrate seemingly selfless acts almost daily. You see it all over the news; the man who saved that woman from a burning building, the mother who sacrificed herself to protect her children from the bomb blast. But how benevolent are these actions? Are these so-called “heroes” really sacrificing themselves to help others? Until recently, it was the common belief that altruism, or selfless and unconditional kindness, was limited primarily to the human race. However, within the last century, the works of several scientists, most prominently George Price, have provided substantial evidence concluding that altruism is nothing more than a survival technique, one that can be calculated with a simple equation.
...esult, the more directly one sees their personal efforts impact someone else, the more happiness one can gain from the experience of giving. Sometimes generosity requires pushing past a feeling of reluctance because people all instinctively want to keep good things for themselves, but once one is over this feeling, they will feel satisfaction in knowing that they have made a difference in someone else’s life. However, if one lives without generosity but is not selfish, they can still have pleasure from other virtues.
A good friend must be kind because being kind is when they look out for you no matter what! If they hear girls talking about you, they are the friends that stop them. Friends look out for you even when you are arguing. A friend understands that you may not always get along but you should always try and be there for them and look out for them. Although this can be difficult at times, it proves how kind and loving you are. Another part of being kind is listening to one and another. Sometimes we don't care about what are friends have to say, but listening is really important. Listening shows that you value their friendship. Some friends only talk about themselves and never listen to your problems; that is not a good friend. Listening to each other helps you learn about the person as it shows character and tells that person you can count on them. In addition, being a ...
It isn’t always easy to be kind to others, nor is it easy to fake being kind. Some try to be kind by offering or showering one with stuff. People all around do this, they think giving people things equals being kind and fills heart the same way a compliment would. However, it does not work like that. One does not feel the same way after getting an object as they do when they are are told they look gorgeous, or when someone holds the door for them, or even when someone tries to be inclusive. Often when someone gifts something they do so expecting something in return, they did not do it out of kindness of their heart. A kind person is giving from their hearts, whereas those who give gifts thinking that is being kind are doing so to feel
The act of kindness comes by very seldom. “Being kind and generous to people will take you very far in life” is what my great grandmother always told me. Smiling from ear to ear, eyes gazing across the room and that special touch are all it took for her to make someone day. Many days were made if you were surrounded by her and saw that big, bright, and beautiful smile. Soft hands are what she had from giving her entire life. No one went without, you could be a total stranger but she would give you her last.
The most joyous season of the year in our house is Christmas. All the family gets together, gifts are exchanged and we give thanks for all that we have. This Christmas however, was one that I will never forget. If it weren't for the help of a stranger coming to my rescue, my holidays would have been ruined. He reminded me that a little kindness really does go along way.