Simple word. Easy to say. Maybe not so easy to do. Oh wait! What does it actually mean? Well, it means: things that are similar as in the same kind of music, the same kind of people. It also means to be nice, to be considerate or helpful. That is the tough one.
Kindness is not a fashion statement from a bygone era, it is not an archaic anachronism that has no place in modern society. It is the means by which we will survive and flourish. “Survival of the fittest!” was the battle cry from Darwin but he wasn’t the first to broach it. As a bare concept it has merit. Stronger organisms preclude extinction. Except that is only the first step.
Few species survive alone. Some do but even they must come together to procreate. If you look around at the rest, they are in groups. It is easier to find food, to raise young and for protection. In order to survive as a species, there needs to be cooperation.
Kindness is a human concept we often attribute to the animal kingdom. Watch the tenderness elephants show to each other. Along with the fierceness when the group is threatened. Watch adult lions play with their cubs. We could learn a lot from observing that animal kingdom. But we see ourselves as the apex predator, the boss. We are not. Individually we could be taken out by many creatures. (and occasionally are!) It is only our technology that gives us the upper hand. And we don’t play fair.
We kill from a distance with powerful weapons or slowly by eroding habitat and poisoning the air and water. We really don’t play fair. One-on-one, we would lose. The animal kingdom has adapted itself for survival in the world. We have adapted the world to suit us.
How we live in that world is how we will flourish. Be kind. We are all in this together. There are those who believe in the survival of the fittest and they will die alone, as the fittest. But it takes a village to raise a child, to have a life. If all you want is the trophy, then take it. We need to get back to living.
