The cruelty that surrounds us is crushing. This self-professed Pollyanna struggles with the level of cruelty that has woven its way into our everyday lives.

The horror of the 60s with the assassinations of John and Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King reach out in a frightening grasp to an ugly past. The turbulent times greatly influenced the person I am today.

Kindness does exist. I believe it. I know it. I have seen kindness. But at times our battered minds and souls fail to notice simple acts of kindness.

We cannot let that happen.

Seeking Kindness

In my 30s, I went through a tough period, as we all have at various times in our lives. I remember taking a walk and experiencing a Wizard of Oz revelation. Suddenly my grayscale world exploded in technicolor splendor.

• When had the sky been so blue?
• How were the leaves of the trees so vibrantly green?
• What opened my eyes to what had been there all along?

In my memoir about my two-plus decades participating in the sixty-mile, 3-Day Walk for the Cure, I talk about how vital the event is to me. At the heart of Perfectly Imperfect: How Walking 60 Miles in 3 Days Shed Plenty of Biases, is the kindness of each person in the Pink Bubble.

Kindness is the oxygen to our well-being. When we are gasping for relief, kindness lets us know we are seen. We are not alone and others care.

Sometimes we need to look for kindness. But most times, it has been there all along. Open your heart to it.

Real-Life Kindness

My focus on kindness took shape in my 2025 goals. I wanted to resurrect a positive approach to life, especially when the world was bent on anything but.

I’ll be honest. I have not always kept to those goals. Perhaps it is the fear of the upcoming election and what it means for our future. But I found myself looking for kindness and wanting to be the better part of myself.

The following are a few examples of what I have found.

Threads of Hope

I wrote before about my experience with Threads. Like any social media platform, Threads has its share of trolls and nasty people. But (so far), they are easily blocked and dealt with.

Threads has a community of incredibly supportive people, like our “emotional support German” (@pictures.of.sue).

Emotional Support German

Sue offers incredible encouragement from the perspective of a German citizen with the history to truly understand what the United States is facing today.

Despite repeated bot attacks and algorithm suppression, our funny, loving, caring emotional support German shares kindness. When you are feeling beaten down, this kind soul lifts you up to believe.

Shared Acts of Kindness

Throughout Threads are shared stories of acts of kindness Threaders received. I love the one (shown below) @jenbee13 recently shared.

May we all wake each morning with the shouted belief, “COME ON GIRL [GUY] WE CAN DO THIS.”

Kindness matters. This post from @donrcampbell sums it up nicely.

Let us help each other be the best we can be.

Be positive. Be kind. Be caring.

UPDATE: I intended to share this resource but ol’ Boomer Brain here forgot. 🙂

United States of Kindness is “a national campaign to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary through action: 250 Acts of Kindness” to…”unite individuals, schools, businesses, and communities to show that kindness is not only personal, it is patriotic.”

I signed up a while ago but I need to up my game. Check it out and see if it’s something you’re interested in.