If you worry you’re not kind enough,
then I think you’re already so.
Because kindness is within you,
you just have to let it flow.
It’s the wishing good on strangers,
even though your day is grey.
It’s the smiling at the lady who,
is getting in your way.
It’s the little spoon of sugar,
that you leave out for a bee.
It’s the catching of a spider,
in a glass, to set it free.
It’s the sending out good messages,
even though they’re in your head.
That somehow works as well,
as if you’d texted it instead.
It’s stopping for a stranger,
who is holding out a tin.
It’s the not becoming blind,
to someone eating from a bin.
It’s the writing of good wishes,
when a milestone has been met.
Not just birth and marriage,
maybe getting out of debt?
It’s the sharing of your treasures,
whether plentiful or not.
To some, a pound means nothing,
but to many, it’s a lot.
It’s the listening to the stories,
you have heard ten times before.
But refuse to show the signs,
that you’re finding it a chore.
It’s the trying to cut out plastic,
and eat more plants than meat.
Being kind to the planet,
and yourself, is no mean feat.
Kindness is a feeling,
an atmosphere of care.
It’s not the great big gestures,
it’s just showing that you’re there.
If you’re worried that you’re not,
then my friend, you’re off the hook.
For those who even think it,
are those who write the book.
~By Donna Ashworth
From her book, ‘the right words’
Art by Nicolene Botha