Our View: Kindness can win every time

There’s a lot to be questioned when it comes to the human capacity for kindness. There is much to consider in world events and politics, especially if you follow too closely on social media. It makes one wonder what kindness in your own sphere can possibly matter.

We resort to the butterfly effect, and, really, to the purpose of the Pine Knot. We are extremely focused on what happens right here, right now. That shrinks things a bit, and opens the possibility that one kind gesture could have an impact. It could spread, and make our own backyard, at least, a better place to thrive in.

We report on the news of the week, and that includes conflict and resolution. It also includes just plain old kindness, like this issue’s story on the Esko kids and the longtime volunteer at the hospital. We report accomplishments that deserve praise, like the economics team from Cloquet. We value the place of arts in our lives, for uplifting us and perhaps taking us out of our worldly troubles for even a few

moments.

Babies smile, so it must be that somewhere in our DNA there is a kindness gene. Studies have shown, though you may have figured this out on your own, that kindness has much more healthful benefits than the opposite.

It can start with “thank you,” as they learned in Esko, and bloom beyond just pleasantries. It can mean helping out a neighbor, righting a witnessed wrong, taking on an initiative.

We wholly support what we’ve come to know as “random acts of kindness,” such as paying for coffee for someone in line. But we also support the not-so-random type. The engrained kindness. The plotted kindness. The seeped-in kindness. Kindness that begets itself, becomes your mantra and your ethos. Kindness all the time.

We can all reach beyond surface kindness and go deeper. Too often there can be mistrust if someone is deemed “too nice,” that there must be some motivating factor. Don’t fear, we say. Ooze kindness. Let it drip freely. Let it leave no doubt and may it spread to those in its presence.

Wallowing in worry, bitterness and blame takes more effort, and more from our souls. We take nothing with us when we leave this world, but we can make an impact while we’re here. Let it be kindness.