Practicing Kindness, What is it?

This is my first "practicing kindness" post for the new year, and I'm really excited to start a conversation with all of you about small, simple acts of kindness that we can do to improve our quality of life throughout 2012.

As a sort of transition between the year of finding joy and this new year of practicing kindness, I thought it might be best to start by reflecting on acts of kindness perpetrated by others in the last week.  That is, to track our own little thrills and moments of appreciation as a first step in determining what constitutes kindness and how we might be kind.

communication - texts, calls, e-mails reaching out and checking in, sweet words of gratitude, compliments


generosity - rides to the other side of town, cups of tea and coffee, cds on loan, shared snacks


openness - patient listening, willingness to change plans to be accommodating, shared confidences

authenticity - honest (but gentle) criticism, promises to keep me accountable

participation & presence - sharing my library table, walking with me, adjusting my yoga pose

Any acts of kindness that just made your day, or any other broad categories you think contribute to kindness? I hope you'll share your ideas in the comments.

P.S. If you're wondering what's going on with the apple, stay tuned, because I have a post about that coming up soon, too...