It's effortless to be kind

     Kindness is a state of being.  It’s an involuntary muscle you have no control over. You can force yourself to be kind, but if it’s not in you, you cannot sustain it. You’re either kind or you’re not. You can be kind and do or say unkind things, but it will eat you up and remorsefully, you will apologize. If you’re not a kind person, I doubt you will recognize it when you say or do unkind things, therefore, giving an apology would not even occur to you. Kindness is not giving annual donations to multiple charities, it is not giving your change to a homeless person, it is not volunteering for different entities. No doubt that those are kind acts, but they are done out of sense of duty, for something in return or simply for the glory or recognition.

True kindness is being in awe of mankind. It is the constant nagging feeling and voice in your soul that has you wondering what and how to give, give, and give, some more. It is hurting when others hurt, crying and worrying about others' tragedies, even if you don't know them and they are clear across the other side of the world. Being kind is not about giving monetary things, but instead, giving your time, your compassion, your respect and most of all your heart. Kindness is making someone smile. It is making a struggling someone's day and not telling them you're the cause. It is giving someone a leg up and never speaking of it. It is how safe, comfortable and at ease people feel around you.

As nurses, being kind is a must, it is within us. It has to be. Of course nurses don't have a monopoly on kindness, as there are kind folks all around the world, but nurses, better be kind, they have to be kind, they must be kind. It's got to be the unwritten perquisite for joining the nursing program. Think of what motivated you to be a nurse. Was it the love of mankind, or for the glory and prestige, or purely financial? I hope it was only one of the above- love of mankind, as you will be rewarded greatly in ways that money can't buy. Kindness is effortless, therefore it is practiced with ease, especially when no one is looking. Kindness does not seek an audience, it does not need cheering on. Most of all, kindness does not want anything in return.

So, my fellow nurses, why does our profession have the saying "nurses eat their young"? How do we explain being great nurses, loving our patients and our profession, but mistreating our fellow nurses? We can not be kind to our patients and unkind to our fellow nurses. We just can't. We are either kind or we are not. Which one are you?