They say that it costs nothing to be kind. It certainly doesn’t cost any money. But it does require mindfulness, being in the present. I noticed recently that I had not been as openly kind as I would like to be, and that was mainly because of wandering through my day totally preoccupied with other thoughts. I’ve tried to practice kindness for many years so it’s something I do almost automatically. However, when you are cruising through your day totally on autopilot and aren’t paying much attention to what’s going on around you, you might not notice when you’ve been inattentive to others or unintentionally dismissive. How often have we done that at home and possibly made our family members feel unseen? Or perhaps made a co-worker feel uncomfortable?

We’ve all done it. Practicing mindfulness requires, well, practice! But it’s worth it for better relationships and to help quiet some of the brain chatter that can disrupt our day.

Kindness doesn’t cost anything but your presence in the moment.