sharing secrets
January 9, 2015 § 2 Comments
There is a lovely message of friendship circling my facebook newsfeed; individuals inviting and accepting the challenge to create a commitment to kindness. A voluntary chain letter that promises generosity of friendship with anticipated acts of unexpected kindness.
I was first introduced to this concept last year when an old friend extended the invitation online. My response then was to challenge myself privately to embrace the spirit of my friend’s promise. It was in this vein that I talked my family into a road trip to celebrate the same friend’s birthday; it was the encouragement that buoyed me to take the uncertain first step in getting to know someone I admired and inviting a friendship of sincerity; is was even the borrowed bravery that allowed me to be present for a friend in the face of grief despite a longstanding discomfort that borders on fear of raw loss. The challenge was a catalyst for a perspective that invited greater commitment to relationships often procrastinated in the busyness of everyday care for family and home without compromising the integrity of prioritizing my husband and children before others.
What began in attentiveness evolved into something greater than a singular act, the momentum of kindness created a richer experience of friendship.
This year I would like to challenge others privately to extend kindness to strangers in the same way we offer kindness to friends. I won’t choose an ideal number of acts to perform or a timeline within which to demonstrate this secret conspiracy of kindness in word or deed. I wonder only what change we could inspire if we woke committed to creating an opportunity to practice kindness without an expectation of completion. It is a perspective of generosity that informs a more beautiful community and a more empowered image of self with greater mindfulness.
A secret worth sharing.
scribblechic 
An absolutely lovely and wonderful idea! I think I’ll take on that challenge 🙂
Then I’m in good company. It is worth noting that kindness, to my mind, isn’t always paying for a stranger’s coffee or compiling kits for the homeless. Sometimes the most generous kindness is patience and attentiveness; allowing those who pass through our lives the weight of being visible.