kindness revisited..

did you read the post kindness with the poem?
If so, did you REALLY read this:

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.

I often find myself re-reading this part over and over.. its SOOO real. When going through Divorce and transformation of my own life, and sorrow was my companion, this feeling of sorrow being so deep was very palpable on a daily basis. Watching the man i loved turn alien into someone i did not even know, was the deepest sorrow imaginable. But almost 4 years later, i understand what kindness does for others and for myself far more than i ever did. Being kind when least expected to..like when a waiter is having a bad day, and obviously bad service,,instead of me leaving no tip or chastising them,, i leave a bigger tip and wish them well. When i see a woman with kids having a stressful time in the store, if i stop and smile -instead of frown or criticize like others--and say an encouraging word like.i KNOW what its like and believe me it gets better... i can show kindness in ways that mean a lot to others.
And what does it cost me?? nothing but less stress on me..if i respond in kindness and not in judging others actions, I relieve myself of stress and release oxytocin the hormone of love...which can never be a bad thing.

what kindness have you done today????