Page 186 - July ONLINE VERSION

Publisher's Be Spread Buy
Joy
Kind

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Yourself

Kindness-genuine kindness-is available and ready for use; literally at your fingertips, your words, and your mind.
It is easy to extend support and encouragement when you are receiving it: a smile from a stranger, the wag of a
gentle dog's tail, or when the claws are retracted in a cat. However, let any of these start showing their teeth, and
we quickly return the same. But what if I told you that even in the most troublesome of times, not only can you
exert kindness, but can exceed its primary measure.

Examples of the power of kindness are expressed on each page of this edition. Each article has provided me with
additional tools to deploy more empathy. Imagine a world where no matter what we are going through, we found KINDNESS
the courage to smile at a child, reached out to a friend in need, or provide a stranger with warmth and encour- KINDNESS
agement. Before you know it, one person could begin to create the world most of us dream of living in.

There is so much global negativity, but we can choose to find and immerse ourselves in the good. Instead of com- IS BEAUTIFUL
peting in our sufferings, perhaps we can bring all our sufferings to one universal table. When we help one anoth-
er, ironically, not only do we discover we are not that different, but we often find the solution for our dilemmas.
We find that traveling through this path together, we are less likely to fall prey to those who wish to steal our joy,
rob us of our hope, or otherwise diminish our happiness.

A debate surrounds the notion that a 'selfless' good deed does not exist; perhaps it does not, that with every act of The earth has music for
kindness, a little selfish reward is given. You received a good feeling knowing you stepped in when everyone ran
out. You reached out to someone socially awkward or included someone society has marginalized. You listen to a those who listen.
story you've heard a hundred times but know time with Grandma is fleeting, so you listen again as if for the first
time. You walk away from these moments with a sense of peace, joy, and hope; a selfish byproduct, perhaps. But, W I L L I A M S H A K E S P E A R E
I submit kindness was still spread.

In the past few months, I've been overwhelmed by the enormous amount of kindness shown to me by placing
an ad, agreeing to take time out of their busy schedules for a sit-down interview, or contributing an article. In
addition to submitting an article, Merideth Myers, Remmington Pearce, and April Riddle took time to view Send Smile
materials: this helped tremendously to ensure the magazine was released on time. As some of you know, this is
a one-woman (and one-editor) operation, so these three stepping in to help when I asked is simply a beautiful
gesture of kindness and support. that and

There is a place for everyone in this world. It can be challenging for some of us to figure out exactly where our Note Laugh
place is, where we belong, but we must not lose faith. I challenge each one of you to lift your eyes, look around, Love
and see the beauty all around. Look for the gaps that need to be filled, and I'm confident you will find the spot
where your uniqueness is required. Whatever you feel passionate about, there is a place where you are needed. and
Every day is an opportunity to make someone's life a little better, grow a little love where weeds are trying to
take over, and live a life of hope, strength, and love. Often it is not our words but our actions, that impact those
around us the most. Forgive
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