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It Costs You Nothing to Be Kind
Help others and improve yourself with daily acts
Being kind = being happy
My dad was an example of a happy guy who performed small acts of kindness as easily as he took a breath. If he had flowers from his garden, he plucked them, put them in a jelly jar, and took them to a neighbor. Extra blackberries? He’d throw together a country cobbler and take them a shut-in from church. If he woke up at 4:00 a.m., he’d jot a handwritten note to one of his relatives living far away.
He was the most contented man I’ve ever known.
I learned from his example and realize that his happiness was caused by his upbringing, his faith, and his genetic code. But it was also created by the self-perpetuating cycle of goodness: By being kind to someone else, you create joy in yourself.
Science proves it:
“Kindness is linked inextricably to happiness and contentment — at both psychological and spiritual levels…Happy people were kinder than people who were not happy…one’s sense of happiness increased by the simple act of counting the number of one’s acts of kindness. Counting one’s acts of kindness also led happy people to become more kind and grateful.”
