Recently, I attended a conference, “Synergy”, organized by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Toronto. The purpose of the Conference was to bring together individuals and groups involved in social justice ministries – an expression of Catholic praxis. The entire conference was inspirational and, in particular, I was deeply touched by a session during which Sister Evanne Hunter, CJ interviewed 3 high school students. Sister Evanne asked the students about their dreams for the future and their responses were full of the excitement, “adventure” and high aspirations that one would expect of a young person. Then, Sr. Evanne asked them how they would wish to be remembered at the end of life. Each one, without hesitation, said that whatever else opened up in her life she would want to be remembered, above all, for her kindness. What an inspiration in a world that has sometimes seemed to be short on kindness in recent years even though most of us, I’m sure, can tell many stories of profound kindness in our experiences.
Today, is designated globally as “World Kindness Day”; an annual celebration established in 1998 in Tokyo by the World Kindness Movement. The purpose of the celebration is to highlight and encourage kind thoughts and actions, expressions of empathy and positive connections across political, social and cultural boundaries. How much we need this in the world today in the face of acts of terror, war and violence, social division, isolation and loneliness, a politics of insult, newly emerging racism and “othering” of those who are “not like us”. Just simple kindness, small daily acts that have a big impact.
All of us can recall stories of kindness that have made a big difference to a day – perhaps nothing more than a smile, some physical help or emotional support, a card or phone call to remind us we are not alone – that we belong and are present in the heart and thoughts of another. Today’s celebration is an invitation to embrace such kindness through small acts throughout the year, the impact of which have the capacity to elevate days, to lift darkness or despair and to simply make life better for others. Collectively, such small acts, while seemingly insignificant, can penetrate the world with fresh hope and meaning. Let’s take up the invitation today to be and make a difference, through kindness, in the world.
In the words of poet, Mary Oliver:
maybe our world
will grow kinder
eventually.
Maybe the desire to
make something beautiful
is that piece of God that
is inside each of us.
-Sister Mary Rowell, csj
image: Brittani Burns/Unsplash