Sift What’s Worth Keeping
Submitted by Kirstin Pinit on Thu, May 28th 2009.
Category: Joyful mothering moment
Kindness is an attribute that I long to be known for. My great wish is that people who know me, or people who meet me, would think of that small word as the one they’d choose to describe me.
Kind.
And it’s the thing that I want for my son more than most anything else. Kindness. That he would be kind, and that the world would be kind in return.
A friend is one to whom you can pour out the contents of your heart, chaff and grain alike. Knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away. - Anonymous
These words so beautifully articulate the value of kindness. I never thought much about this before becoming a mother. But now, I understand that kindness is one of my most cherished heart values.
Kindness opens my heart and blesses my family life.
Kindness toward my child. Sometimes I actually surprise myself at how much patience and kindness I can have for another person. How do I stay calm, attentive and kind as I navigate the wild emotions and behavior of a 3-year-old? It’s because I am holding on to the grain - his spunk, his sweetness, his sensitivity – and letting the chaff blow away (the mood swings, the whining, the mind-numbing repetition of my name). This capacity for patience and forgiveness is a miracle of motherhood.
Kindness toward my husband. When I vowed to love and cherish and share my life with my husband, I don’t think I really knew what I was promising. So as my marriage unfolds, the commitment deepens and becomes more real. This quote reminds me to continue to love, cherish and sift, as long as we both shall live. With the gentlest of hands, I hold my marriage close to my heart and treat it with absolute kindness.
Kindness toward myself. This is perhaps the most important relationship to treat kindly. To be a truly kind person – to my family and to the world – I must treat myself as I would my dear friend. Make my self-talk compassionate by choosing loving, kind and encouraging words (instead of the fussy, cynical, discouraging thoughts that I would never speak to another person). Recognize the grain of me and let the rest fall away.
Centering my thoughts, words, and actions in kindness – I know it will make a difference. I know it will be passed on through my relationships in ripples and waves. That powerful, gentle sifting will be the way I use my life to make change in the world.
Kirstin Pinit
http://www.maternaljourney.com
