Be Kind
by Laurie Wilhelm
Recently, I was driving through North Dakota, USA. It’s a beautiful state and if you’ve not been there, I recommend a visit. Even though the scenery was beautiful and the people were friendly, what really caught my eye on the prairie landscape was a billboard:
Be Kind
Be Kind. That’s all it read. In big black bold letters on a white background. There was no corporate sponsor, no “this sign was brought to you by…”, no 1-800-2be-kind number to call. Just two words to think about – be kind. Direct, clear and simple.
It made me reflect on how it can sometimes be easy to forget to be kind. How we let situations, things, and our egos get in the way of kindness.
This sign, which seemed to me to come out of nowhere, stood as a quiet, strong reminder to do our best to be kind. Be kind to the people we’re traveling with. Be kind to the other drivers on the road. Be kind to the people we meet in the gas stations, restaurants, and hotels. Be kind to ourselves…
Even though the billboard made it sound so easy, I know kindness can take a lot of personal strength and attention. Sometimes it takes a lot of time and patience to be kind, sometimes it requires us to leave our comfort zone to do a kind act, and sometimes we have to disagree with our peers to show kindness. None of these are easy but, then again, they’re not particularly difficult either.
Sometimes, however, there seems to be an underlying worry or fear about being taken advantage of, manipulated, or made to feel foolish. I can’t help but think those are some of the biggest impediments to kindness. Perhaps what needs to grow in equal proportion to kind acts is “kind receiving” or “kind observing” – to receive or observe kind acts with respect, integrity and gratitude. Understand that they’re an act of compassion, understanding, and good will and never to confuse kindness with weakness.
As I passed through the beautiful state of North Dakota, I saw many billboards but none that I remember except for this one. It was so wonderfully simple. Be Kind. That’s it. Maybe in many situations, I began to think, kindness really could be that straightforward and I’ve made it complicated. Be kind. Maybe it actually is as easy as it sounds.
