A poster with “Be Ye Kind” and a picture of a soft eyed bunny was taped by the door to Mrs. Edwards’ primary school classroom when my youngest daughter attended school. (She’s going to be 25 soon.) It’s funny, but of all the things that must have happened that year; the conferences, the report cards, the home reading logs, field trips, head lice (Or not? I’m not sure now. Imagine that. At the time such things made me hysterical.) Anyway, what I still remember is Be Ye Kind.
I thought about it again yesterday, when I noticed a note on the chalk board in my mud room. I’m not sure if the author was my neighbor, a friend, one of my now adult children (there were several in and out this week, including my adventuresome son on his break between the commercial fishing season here and a winter in the South Pacific surfing) or one of the Canadians visiting this weekend. It says “Be Kind. Be Brave. Be Thankful.” A person could be better off for trying this today. At the very least, kindness never hurts. I saw that in the hospital last week with my friend. The nurses, the nurse techs, the doctors, the cashiers in the cafeteria, all were kind. I suppose that’s easier to do in a place where everyone is in some sort of pain or another, and probably why even in the elevator passengers say please and thank you. You don’t know what news your fellow travelers just heard about someone they love or what situation the hospital workers have just stepped away from or are on their way to. (When you think about it, that’s true everywhere, isn’t it?) So, what can we do except be kind, be brave, and be thankful?
