2025 is upon us. Happy New Year, friends! I hope 2025 started gently for you. With 2024 a blur in the rearview mirror, I know many of us have made a list of resolutions to apply to our lives. They could include the following. Less screen time. More exercise. Less sugar or junk food in our diet. More time outdoors. Less stuff. More memories with family and friends. Start a new hobby. Stop a habit that isn't serving your best interests. I know I've considered all of these.
But as I pondered the ideas and goals that would make my personal list, one thing stood out to me. Practicing kindness. Why? Many reasons. It's free. It's easy. You can be conscious and deliberate about it. It reaps great rewards that you may never know about this side of heaven. It makes a difference. Sometimes all the difference.
How can you practice kindness? I think it's a mindset. It starts with kindness to yourself. The beginning of a new year, month, day, or hour is a chance for a clean slate. A chance to do better. Start over. What nicer thing can you do for yourself than to give yourself grace? I find that I'm much harder on myself than anyone else is. I attach greater significance to things that just aren't that important. Circumstances are often completely out of our control. So, be kind to yourself. Don't be harder on yourself than God is. Let it go.
Start small. Smile at those you meet when you're out and about. Make eye contact. Say good morning or hello. Open a door for someone. Ask someone if you can take their grocery cart back from the parking lot. Let a car in front of you when they have their blinker on, without thinking grouchy thoughts or saying them out loud. Listen. Really listen when you are having a conversation. Don't let your mind wander or check your phone. True listening is a learned and valuable skill. It validates the person who's talking. It shows them that you care.
At home, offer your spouse or family member a beverage if you get up to get one for yourself. Take their dishes to the sink. Leave them an encouraging note on their mirror in the bathroom, the steering wheel of their car, or in their suitcase if they are traveling. Make their favorite meal, just because. Make your family feel special. Because they are. And you think so. You might just forget to tell them. So, be deliberate.
Send a quick text or an email to someone that might be struggling. Write and send an actual card or letter in the mail. When you have a chunk of time while driving (and can do it hands free and safely), give someone a call. I've had wonderful catch up sessions with friends and family in the car.
So, this year, develop the habit of practicing kindness. Start with yourself. Begin small. Have fun exploring the ways that you can show kindness to others. The results may surprise you. The person that benefits the most could be you.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) reminds us, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
What are your resolutions this year? Which ones do you think you will still be practicing a month from now? A year from now? Please leave your comments below.
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