Day 52: Kind Optimism
“Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.” – The Dalai Lama
Kind optimism, is there any other kind? Being optimistic is choosing and practicing to be kind to everyone and everything. Optimism does feel better. Think about how you feel when you have those days that everything is going smoothly, you feel well rested and generally happy. Now think of the days when things are going badly or something scary has happened such as a loved one in the hospital. Do you worry and think the worst or do you choose to be optimistic and think the best?
Kindness to Self:
Choosing to be optimistic, and choosing to see your gifts, strengths, beauty, intelligence and uniqueness rather than seeing the flaws is practicing kindness to self.
Kindness to Others:
Being optimistic and seeing the bright side of people rather than their flaws is not only kind to others, but also kind to ourselves. It just feels better to be optimistic and see all the things that are going well and imagine the best.
Kindness to Strangers:
Just as we can choose to be optimistic, rather than pessimistic, we can choose to be kind rather than mean, indifferent or rude. Maybe everything in life comes down to choice, but I have a hard time understanding the need to be rude. It doesn’t make anyone happy. Not the person being treated rudely or the person being rude. Let’s choose to see the beauty in strangers and be optimistically kind.
Kindness to Our Planet:
I do have a difficult time remaining optimistic about the health of our planet when I read and watch documentaries about the amount of pollution in our water, air, and soil. However, I feel optimistic when I see passionate people create companies and non-profit organizations that help preserve our earth, educate, and influence policy change. Make 2016 the year of being Kind to everyone and everything!
Jennifer Palazzo
Photo Courtesy of FreeImages.com and The Very Kind Martin Louis
4 Acts of Kindness 