kind vs. nice.....

The father of someone I know and respect deeply always had a saying:

Be kind to everyone, because everybody's having a hard time.

People don't use the word "kind" in their everyday language any more. "Kind" has been replaced by "nice", and while the two words may be similar, their meanings vary. When I looked up "nice" I found words like pleasant, good and polite. Here are the words that define "kind": caring, sympathetic, gentle, thoughtful. Big difference, huh?

Here's a good way to look at it. You ask someone how they're doing, and after they tell you, you say something like, "Well, hope things get better. Talk to you soon!" You've just been polite or nice. Nothing wrong with that at all! But as someone once said, people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

No matter how good things are for someone, there's always some kind of struggle they're going through in their life. It may be obvious, or it could be something hidden. But showing someone kindness instead of simply being nice could make a big difference in their life.

We all have the choice to be nice or to go the extra mile and be kind.....