Points on Kindness

 #1  Kindness is not the same as niceness. Niceness denotes the quality of being pleasant, cordial, amicable, and such. Kindness, while may manifest as such, it’s not necessarily nice. Kindness can be tough and rough, and maybe even appear cruel. But it’s still keeping the best interests at heart. 

 #2  People often feign kindness for the social benefits of being perceived as kind. And often, genuinely kind people are taken as fakers too. It may be out of projection (inability to comprehend genuine kindness and attributing one’s own motivations and intentions instead), or out of skepticism (due to previous experiences or simply learning to be wary). 

 #3  Genuinely kind people are also often accused of being naive - stupid even. But that may be far from true. They may simply refuse to give in to the machinations of an unkind world.

 #4  Kindness is still kindness even when some form of kindness is expected in return when it can be granted. Otherwise, you’re setting yourself up for being taken advantage of and walked all over. Abusers (and misguided folks) will tell you it’s selfish, but that’s a convenient oversimplification lacking relevant nuance and context.  

 #5  You can be a kind person and have days, weeks, months, or even years when you don’t have much to give. It can happen to even the best of us. And it’s okay to receive kindness and focus on restoring your abundance before you give again.