Sympathy can only be extended by people who believe the same misfortune could befall them, people who feel that "there but for the grace of God, go I." Honest sympathy cannot grow out of smug, secure, benevolent feelings. Many of the problems nagging our society could be solved with sympathetic kindness.
True kindness is not a soft answer for hard problems. Kindness is not to be mistaken for sentimentality. Kindness may mean you having the courage to be candid, truthful, demanding and tough. Letting a friend off the hook is not kindness; instead it contributes to the problem. A fine line exists between condemning to destroy or condemning to draw attention to a problem and help. True kindness is not given by those who want credit for helping others. Professional do-gooders are only as kind as the credit lines they receive.
True kindness does not depend on the dramatic; it is more a question of timing and sincerity than the size of the act. One example I heard lately concerns a nurse who lost her favorite patient. She said she didn't know what to say to the grieving husband so all she could do was make him a cup of tea. What could be more eloquent than a quiet cup of tea?
There is an old saying--"Remember every home has a sorrow and every man carries a burden." So often we never know the burdens that others bear. Some of us just conceal our heartaches better than others; some of us build protective walls of defense. The heavier the problem, the less likely we are to talk about it and the more prone we are to hide it Some things just hurt too much to discuss with others.
True kindness on our part could change a life today, We could help a discouraged person hang on a bit longer; we cou1d help a sad individual know there is still goodness in this world; but most of all we could help a lonely person know that someone else cares.