Be a little kinder than you need to.

The thought running through my mind lately is “be a little kinder than you need to.” I say it to myself when I need the reminder, because sometimes it’s not the first thing on my mind. But it’s on my mind so much because I see it in others. Lately I’ve encountered people that have taken the time out of their day to be a little kinder than they really needed to and it made all the difference. Life is hard right now, for a few reasons, but a lot of it is circumstances that are out of my hands, and it takes a toll on a person. Even a comment like how my hair looked good in a bun (a messy bun that took little to no effort) was enough to make me smile when things weren’t going the best. And it made me think of how easy it is to do that for other people.

          A little goes a long way. Telling a stranger you like their outfit seems small, but it could be they were afraid to leave their house that morning wearing something new. Telling someone you like the way their hair looks. Holding a door for someone. Returning their cart for them at the grocery store. Paying for someone’s coffee. Reaching out to a friend who you haven’t heard from in a while because you want to know how they’re doing. Encouraging someone you know is working really hard for something. Remembering to come from a place of compassion and not criticism when speaking to someone about something they care about. Sending out a message to let someone know that they’re doing a good job at just staying alive. Offering a hand to help, a hand to hold, a moment to just connect with another person could make all the difference in their day and their life.

Small acts make the world go around. Why? Because you never know what a person is going through. You don’t know how hard a day is for someone to just simply make it through. You don’t know a person’s battles and how hard they’re fighting to keep moving forward. The small moments that seem so trivial, the random acts of kindness, and the compassion that is so easy to give, can mean more to a person than you might ever know. So be a little kinder than you need to be.