World Kindness Day was Tuesday, November 13. In light of recent events, I struggled with this day. How do you talk about kindness when the world seems so cruel? How do you ask people to dig deep and be better versions of them when hurricanes, fires, floods or the hate filled actions of others have the power to devastate or end lives so easily?

Now more than ever we all need a little kindness… a little tolerance and understanding, but how?

There’s no magic formula to make other people be kind, so we have to start with ourselves. What comes out of our mouths? What ideas and opinions do we let influence our behavior?  What sorts of behaviors do we tolerate from our family, friends or coworkers?

Be positive, be kind, but don’t condone bad behaviors – this may be the hardest thing we will ever have  do, because it’s so easy to act superior when we have the moral high ground.

If we look deep in our hearts, we know how all people should be treated.

I often find inspiration from the words of a young woman whose life was cut short by hate.

“How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment, we can start now, start slowly changing the world! How lovely that everyone, great and small, can make their contribution toward introducing justice straightaway... And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness!” Anne Frank