Kindness - What exactly is it?

We often times don't think too much about kindness. Everyone knows of the word and everyone knows that it's better to be kind than unkind, but how many of us are actually kind.


The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines 'kind' as "having or showing a gentle nature and a desire to help others: wanting and liking to do good things and to bring happiness to others".

The Oxford online dictionary defines it as "The quality of being friendly, generous and considerate".

These definitions are understandable but at the same time very vague. The definitions therefore raise a few questions, such as if one is not gentle natured, can't that person be kind? How generous do I have to be so I can be considered kind? Can I be generous to my friends only? Can I be generous to only those in need? Should I only do good things to bring happiness to others in need or is the need irrelevant?

I happen to be of the belief that kindness extends beyond need. It is kind to help an old lady with her grocery bags. It is kind to help a child with home work. There are many kind acts that are based on need, but I believe it shows a greater level of kindness and consideration when you send a friend a scarf because it's winter and she's feeling a bit down. It's awesome when your friend sees some thing being advertised and relays the information because he/she thinks you may benefit from it. This kind of kindness that extends beyond needs shows the true character of a friend. My big brother took my friends and I out for ice cream a few times during high school, not because we needed it or because he would benefit somehow, but because he had day offs and just thought of a way to enhance my happiness.

The thoughtfulness behind a kind act is much greater in acts that are not related to need. Those related to need should be 'mandatory' kind acts, Helping someone with bus fare, giving to the homeless, helping an old lady with her bags are great, but imagine if you could take it a step further. Imagine if you stopped and had conversations with the homeless, shared stories about your day with him or her, talk to the old lady while carrying her bags and listen to her stories. Imagine being able to step up your kindness game, do you know how much happier you would be?!