Weaving a web of kindness

     In a speech given in April 1993, Chieko N. Okazaki talked about how a simple piece of string can be used to play cat's cradle. She then used this as an analogy for our lives. "This particular cat’s cradle pattern is called four-eyes. Do you see how complex and beautiful it is? Do you see how each part supports the other parts and is connected to them? You cannot pick one part out without destroying the whole pattern. It is the same with our lives. We meet many people. With some, the association lasts for years. With others, the association is very brief. But in either case, we can make the pattern a beautiful one by making our encounter a kindly one, filled with the desire to serve." Chieko N. Okazaki (see full speech here)

     I wanted to start this blog as a way to promote kindness. The world would be a better place if everyone were nice to each other. I know it's an idealistic goal, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. If everyone tried to do one more nice thing each day and paid attention to the nice things other people do for them, that would be a good start. My invitation to you is that you think back and remember the nicest thing someone's ever done for you and write it down. Tell why it was nice and how it made a difference in your life. And if you want to share that experience, I would love to publish it on this blog. I know that awful things happen every day, but so do really good things. I hope that this blog will become a collection of nice things, a reminder that there are so many wonderful people still out there, as well as a forum to discuss ways we can all become nicer people. 
     Thank you for reading. Please feel free to share your thoughts on why niceness is important.