Like anyone who follows world events these days I am bombarded by major issues affecting the direction of our life together: climate change, economic and gender inequity, racism, the refugee crisis, growing social polarization sowing antagonism, etc., etc. Discouragement and depression can easily set in.
In the midst of all this comes World Kindness Day on November 13 and an invitation to write a blog on the subject! But I’m committed to the work of systemic justice! Isn’t kindness a “touchy/feely” kind of emotion? It may make us feel good – after all it’s what Christians are called upon to do – but what impact does it have on the critical issues facing us?
Let me share a recent experience. I was grocery shopping recently and passed the flower department. What a good picker-upper thought I, but I wondered if I should spend the money. As I hesitated and was deciding to choose at least one small bouquet in the bunch of three for $22, an older gentleman who had been observing me happily said: “Select all three and I will pay for them.” I will never know what prompted his kindness, but it seemed to give him joy and it certainly made my day and renewed my energy.
Celebrated on November 13 of each year, World Kindness Day is a global day that promotes the importance of being kind to each other, to yourself, and to the world. It has the purpose of helping everyone understand that compassion for others is what bind us all together. The Scripture scholar and social justice activist Walter Brueggemann calls it “neighbourliness.”
So, as we continue in community to move with love in addressing the critical issues of our time, let us be kind and with renewed energy make a difference in our world.
-Sister Joyce Murray, csj