This past weekend, I was planting herbs at my parents house.
I was knelt down on their concrete patio, digging the holes and delicately dropping the herbs in when my 86-year old father came out with a towel and gently said, "Here, put this under your knees. You shouldn't be kneeling on that hard concrete."
That simple act of empathy and kindness is still bringing a tear to my eye, days later.
As myself and so many people I know are considering what we can do to impact change in this country, I keep coming back to one seemingly simple idea:
Treat others as you wish to be treated.
Each day, moment by moment, in every role we play, we have the opportunity to dole out simple acts of kindness that can sincerely touch someone else's heart.
It's as simple as that.
And, it's layered.
The United States and the world are shattering. That's the feeling, and very much the reality. We've all been feeling the pain, the isolation, and the devastation of the Coronavirus over the last few months.
Now, we're facing the reality of the inhumane acts of racial injustice that happen — and have been happening for a long, long time — without nearly enough people speaking up about them.
There is systemic racial inequity at the root of these inhumane acts, and the protests that are ensuing. These roots run deep.
You and I might not be the ones consciously creating these heinous acts. But if we see something, we need to stand together and say something.
We need to be able to stand up for our fellow human beings.
We may not be able to solve centuries of true injustice overnight, but we can take steps in our day-to-day interaction with others. We can invoke change at home, and in our communities.
Regardless of who they are, each and every person that surrounds you; me; us...they are a human being.
We need to treat them as such.
We need to treat others how we wish to be treated.
Let's create change.
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P.S. Last month, I gave you a simple way to spread hope. This month, I implore you to use the same simple act to spread kindness: Send a card. I've made another one you can print off to mail here.