On Being Kind

Hello friends,

I’m thinking about kindness. Not niceness. Kindness.

These times are so fraught. Economic uncertainty. Wealth inequity. Social injustice. War. An ongoing health crisis. Actually, several ongoing, overlapping crises…

This week for my Patreon people, I wrote an essay on creativity and slowing down. I’ll be posting it to my blog next week. But this morning, I realize that essay on strategy and figuring things out is really an essay about kindness.

Sometimes we need to pause, inhale deeply, and ask what we really want or need. In order to be kind to ourselves, we have to make at least a small amount of space to perceive what is really going on in our lives.

Kindness can look like taking a break. Reading a book. Going for a walk. Eating something nourishing. Kindness can look like pushing ourselves to do the hard thing. Rising to the challenge. Believing we can do it. Kindness can look like having the necessary conversation. Taking a nap. Doing our laundry. Reaching for our dreams.

We need kindness in our communities, too, of course. And frankly, with all the sh*tstorms going on in the world right now? Most of us are—believe it or not—predisposed to be kind to one another. We care about each other and this world.

If we can keep it up, and add in caring about ourselves?

I have hope for us all.

Wishing you a little kindness today, whatever that looks or feels like.

be well — Thorn

To spread some good cheer in the world, the ebook for my paranormal cozy mystery Bookshop Witch is currently only .99.