Kindness v. Friendliness
RE: Greg’s kindness: S2 asked “Is he that way because his parents are like that?”. My response segued nicely into expansion of my own “family” experience. Any excuse at all will do! Feigning diplomacy, I shared how having grown up with the intense harshness of my childhood home left me lacking any understanding of authentic kindness and gentleness. I still cannot help but marvel at kind, respectful, gentle natured people. Intentional and undiscriminating kindness is a rare practice which I strive daily to bring into our focus and existence. Kindness is in the little things we say and do(or not). Before recovery, I believed that kindness was reserved for the “worthy”. In recovery, I have learned we are each worthy of kindness and connection, even at our worst, especially at our worst. Kindness is always the answer, and has nothing to do with tolerating abuse or being friendly/flattering(gag). “There is nobody on earth more important than you…and there is nobody on this earth less important than you.” I find myself repeating this regularly to my children and to myself. (more…)