Hunger for Connection
World Kindness Day 2022 is on Sunday, November 13th. Kindness + Curiosity = Human Connection.
How we react is always our choice. Hate is never the answer.
I’ve been traveling extensively again this fall, and it felt like everyone I met was walking around with an invisible button that said ‘I want to be seen and acknowledged.’
The people I am meeting seem eager to learn about how they can make a difference. I’ve met people on airplanes, in cafes, and attending conferences.
Most also spoke of feeling tired and overwhelmed and ready to “get to a new normal” after these last few years. Many have gone back to their day-to-day schedules. But there is a lingering weight the transition is seeming to have on people.
Where is the Balance?
A friend recently asked, “How can we balance all the conflict in our world right now, with just having dinner with our kids and our other day-to-day responsibilities?”
I told her truly all each of us can do is be present, to connect with those that we meet and see throughout our day.
The next week, as I engaged with some strangers on a trip to keynote in Las Vegas, I thought of what I’d told her.
Each of these engagements was simply a matter of starting a conversation, being curious, and asking some questions. After the last couple of years where we’ve had limited opportunities like this, it was nourishing to have so many chances to connect with others.
If you are uncomfortable starting a conversation with a total stranger start with someone in your organization. Maybe someone you see often but have never spoken to before. You might just find out that you share some common interests, you both have kids, or some other tidbit that could make working together more fun.
Celebrating World Kindness Day:
This Sunday, November 13th is World Kindness Day. It was introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement, a coalition of nations’ kindness NGOs.
This week, we can practice how we react to others. We are in the midst of a tumultuous midterm US election season, with an outcome that many people may have been fearing. When we act with compassion this week and every week, we are choosing the higher path.
Differences in opinions may come from a place of fear, or have a story. They might have trauma or a deep-seated bias that could be impacting their actions and words. But beyond our politics, beyond our differences, we are all human beings with the same basic needs.
I’d like to invite you to consider how your words and actions could help the healing we are all in desperate need of right now.
Resources for World Kindness Day:
Engage in kind acts. Good deeds can be simple and still meaningful. Listen with kindness. Be your highest self. Your best self.
We can move forward past the rhetoric and the hate and create a better democracy, but we must choose that path.
Stay engaged and lift others with your – civilized, meaningful, and loving words and actions.
Ways to Participate:
Share Gratitude: Let others know how they have helped, inspired, encouraged, or whatever else they have done to make your world better.
Offer to Help: Perhaps they need help with some task, or they could just use a friendly visit. Listening to each other can make a difference.
Spread Positivity: Fill your social media feed with positive stories, quotes and articles that spread kindness, love, and hope. Not sure where to find them? Google ‘Acts of Kindness’ or visit these great websites: Random Acts of Kindness or Greater Good Science Center Berekely.
I encourage you to participate in World Kindness Day 2022. Whether for a stranger or a close friend, our intentional acts of kindness only create more good for the world.
If you are looking for additional resources start a conversation with me! I’m happy to share more tools for integrating kindness into your business. If you have World Kindness Day 2022 resources you’d like me to share, join the conversation with us on LinkedIn! I’d love to know your thoughts.
