Kindness is the inclination a human being feels toward what is good or right. It is the ability to act on ideas that imply a positive action that has an impact on others and demonstrates, on the part of the person exercising it, a charitable, compassionate, kind, sensitive, and considerate character. For example: a person who helps a neighbor garden.
Kindness is a tendency present in all civilizations and is vital for good community coexistence, as it is assumed that all people are naturally kind and willing to help those in need.
The opposite of goodness is evil , which is the characteristic that defines the actions of individuals who harm or hurt others.
- It may serve you: Love
Kindness as a pragmatic value
As a virtue, this value is verifiable in practice, since the way to determine the degree of goodness in people is by judging the actions they perform and the reasons that motivate them. Therefore, it is a quality demonstrated by the actual exercise of a kind act and exemplary behavior. For example, a family member who helps another with the intention of later asking for a favor should not be considered kind at that moment, since their interests are not entirely pure.
Furthermore, it can be said that kindness is a learned skill that is cultivated over time. For example, a person who is initially reluctant to help others begins volunteering in a school cafeteria over the years, and that willingness to help continues to grow as they become more committed to the cause.
Examples of kindness
- Assist a sick person.
- Volunteer at a dog and cat shelter.
- Listen carefully to other people’s problems.
- Collaborate with a public collection to provide food to those most in need.
- Be nice to everyone.
- Donate time at a soup kitchen.
- Spending quality time with family.
- Help a friend move.
- Encourage someone who has been laid off from their job.
- Support family projects.
- Show affection towards parents.
- Forgive the wrongdoings of others and try to understand their reasons.
- Helping to lift someone who has fallen in the street.
- Buy food to give to a person who does not have financial resources.
- Visit a lonely person.
- Playing with younger siblings when they are bored.
- Collaborate with household chores.
- Buying a gift to show someone affection.
- Do your homework with dedication and honesty.
- Always tell the truth.
- Plant trees.
- Feeling grateful for what you have.
- Teach someone to read.
- Return a wallet to someone who has lost it on the street.
- Collaborate with school events.
- Congratulate another person on an achievement they have accomplished.
- Teach values and principles to children.
- Accompanying someone who is going through difficult times.
- Sharing an umbrella with someone else on a rainy day.
- Let someone who is in a hurry go ahead in line.
- Give up your bus seat to an elderly, disabled, or pregnant person.
- Decorate the streets of the neighborhood to bring joy to the neighbors.
- Throwing a party for a loved one’s birthday.
- Help a family member who is preparing for final exams study.
- Visit a friend who is in the hospital and spend time with him or her.
- Stopping on the road to help another driver change a tire on his car.
- Offer to run errands and errands for the grandparents.
- Thank someone for their help.
- Send a gift card to a friend you haven’t seen in a long time.
- Buying a coffee for a coworker who is behind on work.
- Ask how someone who is sad or depressed feels.
- Forgiving a family member’s debt as an act of generosity and support.
- Offer an apology when a mistake has been made.
- Paying for someone else’s bus fare when they discover they don’t have enough money.
- Help a friend clean the house after a party.
- Taking care of other people’s pets when they go on vacation.
- Bringing back souvenirs for the family when traveling.
- Teach someone to drive responsibly.
- Don’t judge other people by their behavior.
- Respect the opinions of the people you live with every day.
