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The original was posted on /r/lifeprotips by /u/Nodebunny on 2023-08-11 22:33:56.

"Those of us who are kind and compassionate experience clear benefits to our well-being and happiness. We may even live longer. Kindness also helps reduce stress and improve our emotional well-being.

We all have so much going on in our lives that sometimes pushes kindness aside.

By taking the time to be kind to others, we can benefit from emotional upsides. It really does make a difference, especially for people who are vulnerable or struggling.

With everything that’s going on in the world, now is the time to help make a kinder society that improves our mental health."

To avoid moral platitudes, I want to share what happened ealier today to show the direct impact an act of kindness can have: an unknown woman ahead of me at a drive throuh paid for my order with no explanation as to why, and she left before I could even thank her. She wasn’t flexing in a fancy car or anything so I was left to guess what she intended.

Prior to this, I had been feeling depressed over the past few weeks but this one act of random kindness had me glowing with warmth. Compelled to share this positive feeling I immediately returned the favor to the next person, at no actual cost to me since technically the person before me had afforded me not only her kindness but also the ability to give this kindness to others.

Her one act shifted my gears into a more hopeful mindset that had been lost on me for weeks; and as a consequence I was empowered to take on some of the tasks I had been avoiding, eventually leading me to share this with you here and now.

The interesting thing is that she had no idea what her actions would have but here is a direct record of it, should she ever encounter this.

To the lady at the drive through that paid for my breakfast: thank you for the gift of your kindness but also the power to give kindness to others.

Note: kindness btw does not have to monetary or resource oriented to have an impact, just taking the time to help a person feel genuinely seen can have a profound impact that has down stream effects on the people and community around them; this also brings to light that negative behaviors eventually spread and impact everyone.

I hope you will make kindness a part of your day in engaging with others; deciding to make kindness a habit can improve society for everyone.