The Free Currency of Kindness

Hello there Beauties!

It has been a very weird couple of days, but January has always been weird for me because it was January who took my precious Rose. January is the time that comes with all the feels, all the tears, all the despair, and all the straws that break the camel's back. Nevertheless, I am almost out of the funk, and I am doing my best to live out my days and not just survive them. This is the primary reason I don't set resolutions, because a couple of weeks in, I am already breaking all the promises to myself. At the start of the year, I set my focus word (discipline), and right now I feel like discipline is not enough. That being said, I am adding the word intention. My goal is to not only be consistently disciplined in the actions I want to take or the moves I want to make, but also to be intentional. There are a lot of things I want to do for myself, and sometimes I allow my mind to trick me into thinking they are next to impossible. This year, though. I want to show up and show out, even if it is in the littlest ways (like saying no to something I want to say no to, but the people-pleaser in me wants to agree for peace's sake). How will I do it? I have no idea. 

Something I have been thinking about this past week, though, is how expensive and expansive grief is. It costs so much of one's sanity, and it is a never-ending thing that gets bigger and bigger the more you dwell on it. I have often heard grief being described as a bottle of glitter: when you first open it, it gets everywhere, you try your best to clean up, but no matter how hard you try, you will still end up finding some glitter even years later. This is such a beautiful analogy. Grief is something that you cannot shake or get rid of easily. It gets everywhere, it touches everything, and as hard as you try, you cannot get all of it out. Because of this, you are forever changed when touched by grief. Unfortunately, this change costs you and everyone else around you. It costs time, it costs relationships, it costs friendships, it costs money, it costs dreams, and so much more. Many will not understand the new version of yourself that emerges after grief, and even you might not understand your new self. 

I say all this to say: be kind. Everyone around you is going through something. While it may not be grief, it still helps to know that possibly every single person you interact with might be forever changed because of their current circumstances. It really does cost NOTHING to be kind. We live in a world lacking sensitivity and empathy, and it is often cool to be a bully. Please be mindful of the things you say and the way you talk about others. If you think you cannot be kind, then be indifferent. There is no need to say your unkind thoughts out loud. As the proverb says: "if you nuh have ntn good fi say, nuh say ntn at all" which means, ''if you have nothing good to say, it is best to say nothing at all." 

Have a lovely week ahead (January soon done - Yayyyy). 

Love from all ends, 

Bella