Little Kind Words

My friend Matthew Grant shared the quote below that one of his long-term mentors had shared with him: “The secret to happiness is finding a way to be of service to others”. Last night, during The Love and Kindness Project Foundation’s annual general meeting (yes! We are one year old!) the Foundation Directors and I reflected on this, and on all the people who had reached out and asked to help,to be involved, to translate…

Today, a reminder to ‘Speak Kindly’! Always! Even if you don’t agree with the person’s idea, opinion, their political beliefs or their cause. We can disagree in a kind and open way, with a respectful tone of voice and non-argumentative posture. Whether you are at home or at work, on the frontlines or the leader of the organization, calling people names, inferring cultural stereotypes and using words to harm is never okay. Our words influence…

When I was growing up, I came to an important realization: there was always going to be someone ‘better’ than me. At anything. And everything. So there was no need to waste my time and energy trying to ‘be the best’, worrying when I wasn’t, and comparing myself to others. All I needed was to do MY best, in the kindest way possible. Reflecting back, I can see the unbelievable value of that realization on…

How do you define kindness? When I looked it up in the dictionary, it says kindness is ‘the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.’ When I ask people what kindness is, they often describe an act of kindness like holding the door for someone or paying for someone’s coffee in line. In order to create a kinder world, in which we treat all others as we’d like to be treated ourselves, we need to…

Do you know why I post about stuff that doesn’t work out the way I planned? Or that I struggle with? Like my tiny container garden not growing anything last year…and all the time I spend picking out seams I’ve sewn incorrectly…and the two years – and many different attempts – it took to get Women in Lean – Our Table going?! Because most things don’t work out the way you think they are going…

Foundation Director Alefiyah Tawawalla hosted a Backyard Kindness Event! Here what she had to say about it! “Children are advocates for a kind future. Today a few children and parents from my neighborhood socially distancing ourselves in the backyard painted Love and Kindness rocks and plaques. Each child painted one for their home and the others to be distributed to the neighbors on their street. The kids put one painted Love and Kindness treasure in…

I had a fabulous and fun day celebrating Friendship Day with the kindergarten and first graders at May Watts Elementary School in Naperville, Illinois. We read Big Karma and Little Kosmo Help Each Other, and then I answered question about being an author. We all talked about how we could be kinder, and help out at school and at home! Some great ideas: 1. If someone is sitting or eating alone, go sit with them!…

On January 31st, we were excited to be asked to give an Author Talk and read Big Karma and Little Kosmo Help Each Other at Bethany Lutheran Church and School in Naperville, Illinois. The event had a fun pirate theme, and between sixty and seventy children and their parents learned about how and why I wrote Big Karma and Little Kosmo Help Each Other, talked about kindness and helping and drew pictures of how they…