Sprinkle kindness like confetti?

Or "sprinkles ain't gonna fix shit"

I have a beef with what is intended to be a sweet phrase. You’ve probably heard it before.

Throw kindness around like confetti.

It sounds nice, right?

Do random acts of kindness, let it be the sparkle you leave behind, blah blah blah.

It makes it sound as though the act of being kind is just a silly little thing, something we do for fun.

Cute.

I don’t know about you, but I find that belittling.

And before you come at me, take a breath. You’re allowed to enjoy a phrase that I don’t. Being different from one another works that way.

Now. Here’s my spiel.

Kindness isn’t small.

Kindness isn’t easy.

People mistake “kind” for “nice”, and that’s what I hear when I hear about dusting kindness around me.

Kindness and Hope are sisters, and both grew like a dandelion in a gutter; surrounded by sludge, yet still there despite all odds.

The world is determined to beat kindness out of you. You don’t learn to prioritize yourself and you’re a doormat. Giving of yourself to make the world a better place is NOT easy, especially once you’ve been around long enough to see some shit.

Kindness is HARD, because it HAS to be.

Loving our bigoted neighbor despite vehemently opposing everything they believe in? Not easy.

Remembering that our great-aunt who proudly voted for Trump is still the same woman who saved our late-grandmother’s tea set for us because they knew we’d delight in it? Not easy.

Reaching out a hand to share resources when we’re struggling to have enough to fill our bellies? Not easy.

Kindness– true kindness– she’s a brutal warrior. And her weapon isn’t confetti.

It’s a sword.

This world is on fire. The climate change crisis isn’t the only hurdle we’re up against. Those in power have an invested interest in making sure we continue to see one another through the lens of “have” and “have not”; “us” vs. “them”.

Confetti ain’t gonna do shit about that. But swords? Those have the power to be aggressively loving. Wide sweeping acts of love and kindness that have the power to turn this ship around and see us safe.

If you enjoy your kindness sprinkles, by all means please continue to do so.

But as for me?

I’ll be swinging a sword. Join me, won’t you?

Until next time, dear reader.

-XOXO,

Jess

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