me stay with my still heart, with my quiet heart, and paying attention to that. My daughter had this great idea -- my daughter, Amelia, who I think is brilliant (and I'm not biased at all). She's had all those ideas of the multi levels of wellness and wholeness. And she got a piece of paper, put out five columns, and then put those five things at the top and then just made some notes and reminded herself of, "here are the things I should be considering" -- you know, with kindness -- you don't have to do it all every day -- but just to remind herself. And I think it's a great idea that our wholeness and wellness will work on many levels right now.  Pree... posted on Jul 15 2023 (2,649 reads)

kindness just an old-fashioned value celebrated in kindergarten and then soon forgotten as one grows older and more ambitious --- or is there more to it? As increasing numbers of people look to live a purpose-driven life, research is beginning to reveal the tremendous rewards that come with living kindly. What follows are some of the most compelling recent studies on the topic of kindness, and the ramifications they hold for ourselves and our world. 1: Kindness rewires our minds for greater health: “The biggest news is that we’re able to change something physical about people’s health by increasing their daily diet of positive emotion, and that helps us get... posted on Sep 23 2014 (142,498 reads)

March, I interviewed Nipun for our magazine, Dumbo Feather -- and I left so energized by our chat! It left a deep impression and we locally got active in trying to create an Awakin Circle in Melbourne, we've published another article on "multiple forms of capital", our founders are coming out for a ServiceSpace retreat, and most recently we've been doing some kindness experiments too. I feel so grateful to know ServiceSpace, and look forward to supporting the "ripples". The photo-essay looks gorgeous in the print magazine, but below is a snapshot with some interspersed photos by the talented Ramin Rahimian. Hope you enjoy! For more than 2... posted on Nov 19 2019 (7,481 reads)

I've discovered, is everything in life." - Isaac Singer Sometimes, all it takes is a small reminder to open our eyes to the beauty and wonder that surrounds us. Lucky for us, we get those reminders every day! For the last 365 days, we have been inspired by innumerable acts of kindness that have touched the lives of thousands of people all over the world. The following stories are some of our favorites from this year. Enjoy! 3,762 Miles Walked and 100 Tons of Trash On an unassuming weekday evening, Jane was at home… as usual. As her thoughts swung between what she was going to do with her life and their dinner plans for the evening, she was unexpecte... posted on Jan 3 2015 (67,910 reads)

who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.” --Viktor Frankl Every year we share the top 10 most inspiring kindness stories featured on our website or the weekly newsletter throughout the year. These stories range from chance encounters of anonymous acts of kindness to deliberate, thoughtful ways that everyday people choose to make the... posted on Jan 2 2021 (12,572 reads)

nudged Nimo to begin writing music again, but this time in a different spirit. This time, the music would capture the heart of humanity. A few months after he began writing, inspired by a global 21-Day Kindness Challenge, Nimo wrote and produced Being Kind. Together with a labor-of-love crew of volunteers, he co-created a zero-budget music video in one week as an offering of gratitude for the 5.9K participants across 98 countries who simultaneously committed to doing a unique act of kindness every day for 21 days in the spirit of “being the change” they wish to see in the world. A month and a half later, he did it again with Grateful, a musical offering inspired by th... posted on Jun 16 2014 (47,800 reads)

is a kindness that dwells deep down in things; it presides everywhere, often in the places we least expect. The world can be harsh and negative, but if we remain generous and patient, kindness inevitably reveals itself. Something deep in the human soul seems to depend on the presence of kindness; something instinctive in us expects it, and once we sense it we are able to trust and open ourselves. Here in Conamara, the mountains are terse and dark; left to themselves they would make for a brooding atmosphere. However, everywhere around and in between there are lakes. The surface of these lakes takes on the variations of the surrounding light to create subtle diffusions of color. Thus th... posted on Nov 28 2014 (47,190 reads)

46 year old, wheelchair bound man with severe mental handicaps. Tully picked him up so he could go on the hay ride with everyone else. 5 minutes into the ride the man got so excited that he peed all over himself and Tully. Tully sat there soaked in pee for the remainder of the 40 minute hay ride. As soon as it was over he changed the mans clothes before his own. If that doesn’t show character we don’t know what does. 8. Someone stole their fire-pit. They responded with deep kindness. Then that someone returned their fire-pit. 9. ‘Whiskkas’ wrote, “While waiting tables tonight, a mother and daughterstarted crying mid-meal. I had no idea what happe... posted on Dec 9 2014 (210,543 reads)

my 60th birthday, I challenged myself to do 60 very deliberate acts of kindness for 60 consecutive days and write about my experiences each day. Now I am no stranger to going out and doing things, but this is the first time I have ever been focused and paid attention to 'Kindness Acts' to the degree that was required in coming up with what I was going to do each day, preparing for it when I needed to, and then writing about it for 60 days. Here is what I want to share. In my experience, there is no such thing as a 'kindness act' There is no separate 'act' that can be called Kindness. I believe our true nature IS kindness and that when we are not acting out o... posted on Feb 13 2015 (35,892 reads)

we think we need. I feared Fred Rogers on the big screen might be perfect or saintly (the real one wasn’t), all sunshine and no darkness. And who could blame us, really? So many of us feel like we’re stumbling around in the dark these days, bleary-eyed from the incessant news cycle, wide-eyed with unending worry in the wee hours. We all need a little sunshine. As publicity for the new movie spread, many of the articles and much of the social media talk focused on one theme: kindness. This year’s World Kindness Day (which has apparently existed since 1998) seemed to be co-opted by Fred. WQED, the television station where he created Mister Rogers&rsquo... posted on Nov 27 2019 (12,564 reads)

personality traits had been monitored from 2014 onward. Observing people over time, the researchers didn’t find significant changes in personality through the start of the pandemic. But then, as time wore on into 2021 and 2022, personalities did in fact start to shift: Extraversion: We became less likely to seek out company and enjoy time with others; Openness: We lost capacity to seek out novelty and engage with new ideas; Agreeableness: Sympathy and kindness declined, affecting our ability to get along with others; Conscientiousness: We became less motivated to pursue goals and accept responsibilities. Younger adults changed the most ... posted on Feb 4 2023 (7,803 reads)

all experienced that moment when something shifts. Often times it’s triggered by the smallest of things. A smile that disarms. A friendly greeting. A grateful pause before a meal. An unexpected compliment, surprise gift, thank-you card, or phone call from an out-of-touch friend.  These micro-moments of lived intention-- small exchanges of kindness, tiny catalysts of gratitude, or brief seconds of mindful attention-- hold incredible potential to transform the trajectory of a day, week, year, or even a life. We notice this a lot around New Years. Whether it’s weight loss, giving up smoking, deepening mindfulness, or any other personal goal, each January 1s... posted on Dec 19 2014 (26,814 reads)

like gnats, and even the good things in life seem to lose their luster over time. Add to that a crammed schedule and mounting obligations, and happiness might just seem out of reach—achievable for other people, perhaps, but not us. Fortunately, research suggests that happiness is something we can cultivate with practice. The Greater Good Science Center has collected many happiness practices on our website Greater Good in Action, alongside other research-based exercises for fostering kindness, connection, and resilience. Below are 11 of those happiness practices, grouped into five broader strategies for a more fulfilling life. 1. Acknowledge the good If we don’t fe... posted on Apr 29 2016 (69,411 reads)

is abundance in nature… How do we reconnect with nature’s abundance? How do we reconnect with this principle that sages have talked about for so long: ‘It is in giving that we receive’?” Three key elements could be: Service: “Take this moment, and do whatever small thing you can.” Find a way to deliver value (not the value you want to offer, but what people want to receive). Social Capital: “You can’t do an act of kindness without creating an affinity. Without creating a connection, a relationship.” You can’t do this alone. Sustain networks of people that support the values you stand for, by paying-... posted on Jan 26 2017 (11,519 reads)

life. (In some deep yet obvious sense, The Marginalian is my own lifelong version of such a compendium, commenced long before I first encountered Tolstoy’s book a decade ago.) In the entry for January 7 — perhaps prompted by the creaturely severity and the heart-clenching bleakness of a Russian winter, or perhaps by the renewed resolve for moral betterment with which we face each new year — he writes: The kinder and the more thoughtful a person is, the more kindness he can find in other people. Kindness enriches our life; with kindness mysterious things become clear, difficult things become easy, and dull things become cheerful. At the end of the... posted on Jan 2 2022 (7,317 reads)

Can Be a Gateway for Compassion As Leonard Cohen's classic song, "Anthem," goes, "There is a crack, a crack in everything; that's how the light gets in." In the past year, we've been witness to countless moments of goodwill whose luminosity finds a place to shine through the cracks of life's unpredictable hardships. Two years after a family lost their beloved 21-year-old son Trevor in a motorcycle accident, thousands do acts of kindness in his honor, on what would have been his 23rd birthday. In Canada, another motorcycle accident tragically takes Nicole and Brent Keryluke's lives, leaving their two young children. ... posted on Jan 4 2022 (14,643 reads)

you say, I’m terribly sorry, I can’t do anything about that. And they say, But it’s not fair. And here you are, the people who have said it’s about fairness, and sometimes you have to say, It’s not fair, and we can’t do anything about it. But in the larger sense, when we as adults occupy ourselves with what’s not fair in the world, and we take our children with us and they hear and see and take part in the expressions of our own generosity, our own kindness, our own social activism — when I think about parenting, I think you said it before, about parenting as a spiritual practice. I think of social activism as a spiritual practice. I think... posted on May 8 2022 (4,283 reads)

who had been quietly sitting on my lap, looked up at me and asked in a voice just above a whisper if she could be a trail angel with me next time; the other children heard her and all chimed in, “yes me too, me too!! I want to be a Trail Angel too!!” This moment felt special, it felt important, as though I had just extended a lifelong invitation for these children to trust one another. For them to be willing to participate in the journeys of others through simple acts of kindness. In some special way I had just shared with them a little secret of humankind, that it is a privilege to share simple abundance with one another, and that we all have an endless capacity... posted on Jun 16 2017 (11,284 reads)

are those who use anger, sarcasm and parody to confront unjust action.  Pancho does it with just the simple -- and radical -- power of love.   If he had a superpower, that would be it.  He is a fearless soldier of compassion, unconditionally willing to hold up a fierce mirror of love.   For Pancho, the whole World, every moment, is his field of practice.  When he was recently asked what nourishes him, his response was clear: meditation and small acts of kindness.  Meditation deepens his awareness while small acts of kindness deepens his inter-connectedness.  Or as Pancho would sum it up, "Meditation is the DNA of the kindness revolutio... posted on Nov 29 2011 (166,493 reads)

seen in months. So stunning was the offer that it was featured in a front-page story in the newspaper, and word of it spread a hundred miles.” Read here how the grandson of the mysterious B. Virdot discovered this exceptional legacy and did his own sleuthing to discover how his grandfather’s generosity affected its beneficiaries. Secret Agent L. “For the past year, Laura Miller has been living a double life of sorts: administrative assistant by day, secret agent of kindness by night. “The 32-year-old Duquesne University employee only recently revealed herself as the woman behind “Secret Agent L,” a giver of random acts of kindness that has b... posted on Dec 13 2016 (14,057 reads)