"Kindness costs nothing."

Each year, World Kindness Day is celebrated on November 13, to inspire people to be kind. Being kind is a reflection of one's character, morals and innate humanity. It cannot be constrained by definitions. It is an inherent attribute of any living being who possesses a soul. Kindness is not a one-day celebration.

Kindness is untouched by materialistic propaganda. People confuse charity with acts of kindness.

It has become a trend to monetize giving alms to the needy, feeding someone hungry, sponsoring a child's education by posting about it on social media platforms. This is worse than helping those people because by posting such content we are shamelessly using someone else's misery as a means of achieving our personal goals.

It cannot be associated with typical acts that society decides to fit in a specified criterion of the word. An animal like a stray dog looking after and protecting kittens is also kind. The kindness we see in any species other than the human itself is actually in its most pure and divine form. An animal does not possess the intellectual capacity to show love and warmth with an ulterior motive. It helps its fellows and even humans out of natural emotion.

Although, NGOs, government organizations talking and posting about lending a helping hand with the intention to spread awareness about someone's situation should not be counted as supporting money-minded act.

It cannot, however, be branded as kindness. It comes under the umbrella of awareness, compassion, brotherhood and harmony. Kindness cannot be materialized. sometimes it is an ethereal experience felt only through observation of the warmth and love the receiver feels when helped by someone selflessly.

Kindness may not be one's strongest emotion. That does not mean one cannot try to be kinder with every passing day. The first step towards it is controlling what you say, how you say, and whom you say it to. We speak without thinking and hurt emotions go unnoticed. We think without observing and the pain of someone near is never realized. In our minds, we remain corrected even if things begin to fall apart. Empathy, therefore, is the first step.

"The world is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!"

William Wordsworth in The World is Too Much Us

Another thing we can do to be more helpful toward one another is to avoid judging. This is a bit difficult because we judge unconsciously and we do it almost constantly, but the act of judgment isn't something negative. It is an instinctual habit that helps us make better decisions. It becomes negative if done with the motive of being hurtful, commenting in poor taste or even advising when not asked to.

Kindness is a practice of the soul. It connects us with universal harmony by refining our thoughts and putting them in a sphere of positivity. This Kindness Day, we can all try to be more observant about the little actions in our daily life that can help make a difference in the bigger picture!