Radiate Kindness

Dear Friends,

Last Saturday morning I was wandering around downtown Harrisburg, PA when I stumbled across the above mural directing me to “radiate kindness”.  Those words, that turn of phrase hit me in just the right place and time…it was enough to stop me in my tracks and think on that mural for the rest of the day.

Radiate kindness, it directed….radiate kindness.

I was thinking about that mural as I went about my day...thinking about what it means to radiate kindness, and also, what it doesn’t mean.

My dear friends, I think we can both radiate kindness and stand up for ourselves and others when it’s appropriate to stand up.  We can radiate kindness and get angry at injustices done toward ourselves and others.  We can radiate kindness and create firm boundaries when boundaries are needed in our life.  We can radiate kindness even when we are wronged…but that doesn’t mean we ignore the ways we are wronged.  I think we can both move through life reacting to our world around us when bad things happen and simultaneously choose to soften, to slow down, to understand more, to show more kindness even when we might need to stay firm in our needs, our anger, our boundaries.  I don’t think any of those things are mutually exclusive.

There are a lot of terrible, horrible things going on in the world, my friends…and it can make life, at times, feel absolutely overwhelming.  But I think we can do our part to make our little part of the world a better place one relationship at a time.

Have an amazing week, my friends.

Love
Krista