You Gotta Be Cruel…

To Be Kind

Cruel to be kind, in the right measure
Cruel to be kind, it's a very good sign
Cruel to be kind, means that I love you
Baby, you gotta be cruel to be kind

I love this song by Letters to Cleo

Act 55:

“It’s never too late… To Be Kind

Most of us rush through life and miss many of its greatest rewards. Take a gentler road, where you have time to talk to people. Learn about their lives, and their loved ones. It will broaden your life. It will give you compassion. Accept their kindnesses. Be kind in return.” – Patrick Lindsay

Quote in book: “Repay injury with justice and kindness with kindness” ~ Confucius

Be kind. Be nice. It’s not only rewarding for the other person, but for you as well. When you are kind/nice to someone else it actually feels good. This blog is very similar to the “Help Someone” blog. Helping someone is being kind. But this is one step below actually helping someone. You can be kind in so many different ways.

Being compassionate is probably one of the best ways to be kind and you’d be surprised how many people are not compassionate. I distinctly remember one summer coming home from work and I saw an old man in a wheelchair on the sidewalk. His chair was half off the sidewalk and he was practically falling into the street. There were three cars in front of me that passed him and none of them stopped. I did. I felt bad for him. By the time I got to him, he had fixed himself so he was no longer falling into the street, but I noticed that he had no shoes and he wasn’t strong enough to roll the wheelchair. He was propelling himself forward by leaning on the edge of the wheelchair and using his bare feet.

I walked over to him and asked if I could help. He said. “Oh no I got it.” Then I figured this was just pride talking, so I insisted. “Are you sure? Where are you going? I can just put your wheelchair in my car and take you there. It would be my pleasure.” I smiled at him. He again said he was fine. I offered yet again, but this time I put my hand on his shoulder. I think this softened his resolve and he finally agreed. I ended up driving him almost 2 miles to the nursing home (which I had never noticed it was a nursing home before and I drove passed it every day… I actually thought it was a hotel). When I brought him back, a nurse and his family greeted him, because he had been gone for quite sometime. Apparently, he got lost when he was just supposed to go around the block.

I always remember this man when I think of kindness, because I remember when I was helping him I thought… why didn’t any of the cars before me stop? Why didn’t any of the cars behind me stop? Would I have stopped had someone else stopped? I’d like to think that I would’ve still stopped or at least slowed down to ask.

However, wanna caution stopping, being kind, and helping someone, because JEM sent me these cautionary tales about stopping. These may or may not be true, but definitely take care of yourself first and make sure the situation is safe, before trying to help someone else out. It seems like some people are taking advantage of people’s kindness. Be careful out there.

While driving on a rural end of the roadway on Thursday morning, I saw an infant car seat on the side of the road with a blanket draped over it. For whatever reason, I did not stop, even though I had all kinds of thoughts running through my head. But when I got to my destination, I called the Canton PD and they were going to check it out. But, this is what the Police advised even before they went out there to check....

"There are several things to be aware of ... gangs and thieves are now plotting different ways to get a person (mostly women) to stop their vehicle and get out of the car.

"There is a gang initiation reported by the local Police Department where gangs are placing a car seat by the road...with a fake baby in it....waiting for a woman, of course, to stop and check on the abandoned baby.

"Note that the location of this car seat is usually beside a wooded or grassy (field) area and the person -- woman -- will be dragged into the woods, beaten and raped, and usually left for dead. If it's a man, they're usually beaten and robbed and maybe left for dead, too.

Be Kind. You can be kind by just smiling. You can be kind by just listening. You can be kind by hugging. You can be kind by being quiet and not saying anything. You can be kind by just being there. You can be kind by talking to someone. You can be kind by giving them what they need at that particular time. You can be kind by saying nice things about the author of the blog! Haha. =)