Kindness Challenge Week 7
Grateful for Kindness
Reflection
This weeks challenge was to be grateful for the kindness in our life; kindness witnessed, experienced or given. Another thought was to think before going to sleep at night about the kindness we witnessed and experienced during the day and perhaps say a prayer for or send good thoughts to the people who were kind. While thinking about what I would write about for this seventh week of the challenge I had a wake up call of sorts. I had a surprise…I didn’t like what I woke up to; light was shined on a couple of things I don’t like about myself.
It seems it is easier for me to remember the not so kind and ugly things I witness or experience than it is to remember the kind and beautiful things. When I think back on the day I tend to find criticism and judgment are the first thoughts to come to mind. I quickly think sarcastic and disrespectful things about the day and its happenings. After I get past the ugly then I see the beauty. That’s not very kind of me, is it? Should I not see the beauty the ugly tries to hide? Should I not see the beauty first?
I am truly grateful for the kindness all around me in this world that can be cold and mean. But this week it has been a gratefulness that had to be dug out from under world’s less than wonderful atmosphere. I don’t know, maybe this week with it’s not so stellar days simply got to me and I let negativity take hold. Whatever the reason it saddens me to know that the week though filled with kindness seen and experienced I allowed the good to be overshadowed by the not so good.
Last week is over and done and cannot be changed. Lessons were learned and I am humbled. This week is just beginning and I am grateful for the new days. New days to witness, experience, and give kindness; new days to see beauty even when it is hidden or disguised; new days to bow my head and say thank you.
Patricia's Place 
I tend to let my mind think of negative things at night even though I do a little exercise of going through my own little list of all the good things that happened during the day. I always find the bad things or more accurately the things that worry me and cause anxiety just keep creeping back in and I have to push them away. All it manages to do, the thinking of worry things, is to upset my stomach. It’s a bad habit and I am always working on it. I don’t sleep well because of it. I am always thankful for a new day… a new day to try and get it right. I think most of us are too hard on ourselves… I am pretty sure I have said that here before. I see a lot of kindness here at your blog and in comments.
Thank you, Pix. We are often too hard on ourselves and that does sometimes mean less sleep and body rebellion. For the most part, I see the beauty of life but when life isn’t the way I want or like the ugly overshadows the beauty. That is not the way I want to be. Life is what it is like it or not and to dwell on what I don’t like is a waste of energy, energy that is better used rejoicing in the goodness of life.
A very thoughtful post Patricia. I’m wondering if you can loosen some of the judgment on yourself by thinking about your first thoughts in your nightly review as more like the first bits of morning pages as prescribed by Julia Cameron. It’s kind of like a brain dump – just to get everything out of the brain and free up space for the real deal of consideration. Or perhaps like wiping the crumbs off the table after a meal, so you’re ready to see things as the clean surface again. In any case, I always think it’s helpful when we learn things about ourselves, even if they are at first glance not what we’d prefer. And as you said, every day is a new beginning. Wishing you a most wonderful week!
I seem to be in a time of some stress that I have been allowing to have the upper hand. Not my usual manner of handling things. There was a time when I lived in the negative but those days are done. When the occasional downer days show up I know better than to allow them to rule and I needed to give myself a good talking to and get back on the right track. Niki’s prompt helped focus my thoughts my post was part of the focus. Thanks for your thoughts and encouragement!
I find that I am affected by the weather. It’s not always that I’m negative when it rains but if I don’t want rain, it does affect my mood. Some sunshine and I’m on top of the world. Wish I could bottle it and release it as I need it.
If you could bottle sunshine to release as needed it would probably have an expiration date that would pass before you needed it and who knows what old sunshine would do to your mood.
We’re perfectly imperfect or imperfectly perfect trying to do our best in this challenging world. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
You are right! Thanks for the reminder.