The Power of Kindness: Learning to Heal Ourselves and Our World

By Sandra Lee Keefer

This is a book of inspiration. It is a book of belief in the power of our human warmth, caring, and kindness. The purpose is for all of us to realize the power and impact we have on each and every life we touch. This invaluable book will show parents, teachers, children, and all of us... the true POWER OF KINDNESS.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Feb 5, 2001
• ISBN: 9781469701622

Sandra Lee Keefer

Dr. Sandra Lee Bailey Keefer has taught Special Education students for many years. She was the co-host for a talk show called "Health Spot" which was based on a development program for living a balanced and happy life physically, emotionally, and spiritually. This book describes a common sense approach for re-introducing and strengthening the importance of character development in early education. Dr. Sandra Keefer teaches in Redondo Beach, California.

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Contents

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PREFACE

This is a book of inspiration. It is a book of belief in the power of our human warmth, caring, and kindness. The purpose is for all of us to realize the power and impact we have on each and every life we touch. This invaluable book will show that possibility to parents, teachers, children, and to ALL of us. Now is the time to KNOW and to PRACTICE the true POWER OF KINDNESS.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I’d like to thank the copyeditors, Jean Champagne, Joyce Mullan, and my darling mother, Frances Gay, for the corrections and suggestions about the content and development of this book. Also my gratitude to Mr. Richard M. Bruce aka Mountain Man, for his enthusiasm and dedication in getting kindness back into our schools and into our world!

INTRODUCTION

Perhaps the most shocking and incredible fact about kindness is that is does not get the respect it deserves. As an observer of humankind for many years I have decided that uplifting kindness into the ranks of honesty, respectability, and trustworthiness is long overdue! It is time in the new millennium to re-evaluate, re-cultivate, rejuvenate, recalculate, and restore kindness into the hearts and lives of both children and adults.

Just how do we go about this seemingly large task? It starts by re-teaching parents and teachers, our communities, nation, and the world as a whole. It starts by each of us realizing the importance of kindness and making a commitment to including it as an intricate part of our lives. We must all come to a realization that everyone makes a profound difference in the lives of those around us. It may take a few years, but I do believe it is possible. If we become aware that the opposite of kindness could be the possibility of violence, then we must take control and stop the waste of precious lives and loved ones. Life is already a challenge, but we must not stand by and let those who have lost their way ruin other lives. Everyone must have the opportunity to follow a path that can heal our broken, violence-filled society.

This is a path we all can take. It is a simple one of nurturing a sense of awareness, caring, and willingness to take a stand for the betterment of future generations. After watching and experiencing the effects of kindness or the lack thereof comes a book carrying the banner for more, not less, kindness in all of our lives. Perhaps there are many ways in which to implement the power of kindness. As a teacher, one of the significant places in which to start is in our schools. And it goes without saying, our parents hold the golden key. They are the ones who need the care and support to nurture and guide their children, even before they ever enter the halls of any school.

More than 2,000 students are physically attacked on school grounds each hour, according to a National Education Association study. Confrontations that once resulted in scratches and bruises are now ending in gunshot or stab wounds, even death. We have lost control and we must as parents, teachers, and as a community take a stand not only to stop the violence and unkindness, but also to find the solution to prevent it. We can no longer put a band-aide on our problems. We can no longer stand in apathy and feel that we are helpless. We must all take powerful, effective, and profound measures of prevention.

Why do we have so much violence in today’s youth? The answers are difficult, but one is no doubt the loss of connectedness. Parents are doing everything to meet the demands for their families financially. Perhaps due to a lack of time with both parents or a single parent household, there is less or no quality time to spend with their children. Because of this lack of time there is less family support and less family control. However, with today’s results with our youth this can no longer be an excuse. Parents first must be involved in their children’s lives. This has to start at an early age. As teachers we can already spot children in the second or third grade who are troublemakers. This must be halted then, not when they become teenagers when perhaps it may be too late.

The media is powerful and often portrays glitzy, wild, violent movies and television. There is no limitation to the murders and lack of respect and unkindness that our youth witness daily. Only recently, one of my high school students was describing the bloody violent video games he watches. He described the cutting off of a man’s head and all the (simulated) blood that spattered all over the video screen. The sad part for me was the absolute thrill he got from watching this scene. How then can we be surprised at all with the violence instilled in our youth? Combine that with all of our teen subcultures, gangs, guns, alcohol, drugs, risk-taking, and the dangerous desire to get even. Top all of that off with poverty, apathy, and war! It seems as if we are living in a very bad dream.

We must find a better way. I say it is through the power of kindness, shown either in a positive family environment or by a very involved adult. We must as teachers, parents, and as a nation have clear expectations for our youth in regard to how they treat themselves and others. It seems so simple that if we teach the importance of kindness at an early age, children will grow up learning respect and earning respect in their own lives. What if WE could ALL learn that we do NOT have to be RIGHT about everything? We could just BE who we are in the world, and listen to each other. What a great approach it would be if we could just heal our society by approaching life with the power of kindness in our hearts. What if each day a person responded to another human being by putting kindness first?

If we focus on the power of kindness and the results it brings, we can touch the lives of children that we may have given up on. As a teacher I have seen angry students change their negative attitudes and become caring students. All of this can be made possible through the kindness of teachers and staff. Acts of kindness show children that someone really believes that they have value and worth. It could be as little as taking the time to listen