One of my favorite quotes is Ralph Waldo Emerson’s, “Scatter joy.” Those two words have found a way to completely encompass all I believe in. I believe in kindness and the duty we all share to scatter it around to those we know and even to those we don’t. To me, there is nothing more important or lacking in our society.
In a world that is increasingly becoming more and more self absorbed, a kind word or gesture to another person is cherished. My family has teased me since my first day of kindergarten that I am a suck up. This label has stuck with me throughout my life, but what I find frustrating is that people think saying a kind word to another person is sucking up. Why can't I tell a person they look nice if they do? Why can't I send a card to thank someone for doing something nice for me or just being a great person? If making another person smile because of telling them something I genuinely mean makes me a suck up, I will proudly wear that title. The fact that this is often deemed out of the ordinary is what I find most troubling.
Somewhere along the line people have become too jaded and selfish. We need to step outside ourselves and be kind. We constantly are looking for others to praise us, and we forget the importance of affording the same pleasure to others. Instead of only telling people what you don't like about them, why not say something that you do? We are too quick to spew venom and hurt others with our words. Being kind and gracious changes lives, and I have found that the people who are giving are the ones who are most affected.
I have witnessed the power of scattering joy and kindness first hand. I have watched what it does to the recipient and the giver. Christin Keirn and I started a Kindness Campaign in our Composition 10 class during second trimester. The students ran with it, and what happened because of it was something we never could have imagined. We found our students to be happier, more confident, accepting, and willing to stand up for others due to our mission to spread joy. As a teacher, I have never been more proud of my students.
My dream is for us all to see the benefit and necessity of scattering joy. There is nothing that the world needs more. Lend a hand. Give a compliment. Smile at others. Do a random act of kindness. Do it for no other reason than it is the right thing to do. I promise your life will change if you make kindness who are you.
Go do kind things,
EP
I encourage you to take a look at the videos made by the incredible students of LPHS and then tell me about an act of kindness that brightened your day.