How Would You Define Kindness? (Parenthood and Kindness Series)

My road to kindness this year has been both challenging and eye-opening. I’ve discovered that though simple gesture promotes its premise, there’s more to kindness than a friendly smile or a quick wave hello. Sure, holding the door for someone at the store, saying an encouraging word to a stranger, these are all acts of kindness, but there’s layers yet to be peeled, and I want to know more.

Part of the reason I started this journey is for self-improvement. I wanted kindness to be the forefront of my attitude because I was lacking. I wouldn’t call myself mean-spirited, but I definitely had a penchant for being unkind on some days. Call it stress or just a plain need of an attitude adjustment, but I quickly realized that I needed to make a change. My daughter is growing up so fast, and she absorbs things like a sponge. So, I wanted to be a great example for her—a role model.  She mimics everything I do anyway, so it might as well be something kind and good, right?

So you could say that my start to this journey was selfish, but like anything I’ve discovered about kindness so far, it quickly evolved to something greater and more complex. Kindness to me, at this moment, is more than just for my own personal gain; others deserve it too. 

And as much as I had an idea of what it means to be kind, and what to do to spread its premise,  there are others out there with a different outlook, a different perspective.

And that’s what I want to explore.

But I need your help.

In May, I’ll be kick starting a series called Parenthood and Kindness. The premise is simple: 1) to discover other people’s definition of kindness and 2) to get the conversation going about how we can spread kindness into parenting and beyond.

To do this, I will be interviewing bloggers from all different niches, and asking them to discuss their thoughts on kindness, how it fits/can fit into their daily lives—parenting or otherwise. My hope is that each interview will inspire a meaningful discussion and a community that both fosters kindness and spreads it around.

Here are few more details:

*The piece will run regularly on Collecting Moments

*The interview format will be as follows: I’ll send the featured blogger a set of questions and he/she can answer each as little or as much as he/she wants. I’ll review the responses and have a back and forth discussion to elaborate any points further.

-*osts will be promoted across all my social media accounts (participants can do the same)  

*ALL are welcome—parenting bloggers, style bloggers, etc…  

So if you’re interested in participating or know someone who would be perfect for this series, please give me a shout here.  I will be scheduling May spots this month.

As always, thanks so much for all your support. I wouldn’t have gotten the courage to start this series if it weren’t for all your wonderful words and comments within this humble little space of mine. It may not seem much to you when you impart your words on a post or share my piece of social media, but trust me, that’s the purest gesture of kindness: just support and encouragement for each other.