A great paradox about the Care and Kindness Campaign is that it is both simple and misunderstood. It is so simple that everyone can do it! And yet, because these actions, at first blush, seem to be so obvious, they are quickly dismissed, or overlooked by many people. A big distinction of the Care and Kindness Campaign is that it promotes intentional acts of kindness. Being intentional means going out of your way. Listening is supremely important. One must listen to another pe

Things I Forgot When My Friend Was Hurting When the funeral services were over, I mentally and emotionally moved on to other things. I forgot that her grief was not over. When she came home from the hospital, I forgot that she still needed support and help. When I saw her again several months later, I tried to avoid mentioning her husband who had died. I forgot that she still wanted to talk about him. When their child died, I tried to encourage them by reminding them that th

Things I Forgot When My Friend Was Hurting I forgot that when her crisis occurred, she needed someone right away, not hours or days later. I forgot that my presence with her was important. I thought a quick phone call would take care of it. I forgot that when she stopped crying, it didn’t mean that she had stopped hurting. I forgot and tried to resume our normal conversational style of the past and moved on to other things. When she was crying over her sudden loss, I hesitate

Did you know that a kind word spoken in someone's ear changes their body chemistry in a measurable and positive way? A kind word is a spiritual gift that touches another's spirit—and helps them physically.This is not new information. Biblical Proverbs proclaimed this many centuries ago. When Jan, in my book, The Miracle of Kindness, opened the small cracker package for the little old lady in the nursing home dining room, Jan realized she had given a caring spiritual gift to h