Kindness is the reflection of myself in another human. Any person next to me can act as a mirror to the possibilities of my being and it builds the awareness that everyone is worthy of love and respect. Respect involves patience and understanding.

Starting from kindness towards oneself, it can then grow into the feeling of kindness towards the rest of the world. It also means acceptance — seeing with the heart, without judgement and fear.

Only by truly loving ourselves are we capable of taking care of others. We can allow them to be whichever version of themselves they desire, to make mistakes, to be absent from our lives. It is when we reach beyond our urging, sometimes egocentric needs that real understanding of another person is being born. And kindness follows.