Kindness Matters!

My son Tucker, full of kindness!

KINDNESS MATTERS!

“Kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” - Mark Twain

This past week I was skiing with my son Tucker at Deer Valley. We started to get hungry and headed into the lodge to eat some delicious turkey chili. They weren’t quite ready for us yet. As we were patiently waiting, laughing, and having a fun mother-son moment, a line was forming behind us. All of a sudden, a man standing behind me said in a very loud manner,

“Excuse me lady, since you’ve already ordered your food, it would be great if you would move forward and allow the rest of us to order.”

My son and I on the lift at our favorite place… Deer Valley!

Now just a couple things to take note of. We had NOT ordered yet and I was so taken aback by his rudeness that I was speechless - which never happens! LOL.

Since I didn’t quite know what to do at that moment, I’m ashamed to say I did exactly as he said - I moved forward and made room, even though I had yet to order. My face felt hot, my skin tightened and I felt embarrassed and angry that I didn’t say anything.

It occurred to me that this man must do this a lot and get his way. That he bullies his way through life, demanding things, and most people do what he says.

And then I thought, if he treats me this way (a lady and her son waiting patiently in a line), how does he treat the people he feels comfortable with? Those that may report up to him at work, business partners he has to do deals with, customers that purchase from him. How does he treat people that serve his food, or check him into his hotel room, or the instructors he’s hired to ski with his family. How many people does that impact?

Kindness matters. Every day we have a choice of how we treat people. We can have empathy, we can have patience, we can have grace. We can treat others with respect. I’m a firm believer that kindness comes first and everything else will fall into place.

To end my story, when I did move over in line, my son Tucker (who is 4) turned around and said, “In my family we use please and thank you, you may want to try that again…. please.”

One of my proudest Mom moments ever. Lead by example, lead with kindness!

My challenge for you…

Can you commit to doing one random act of kindness this month? Maybe buying someone's coffee behind you, or giving up your first class seat to a mother, or even simply writing a letter to tell someone what an incredible job they are doing and they are appreciated. Just one thing - let's see how far it can travel!!