Peace and kindness

I am a strong believer in kindness. For me maybe the most important thing in life is to be kind to one another. In life, however, I often encounter three varieties of this philosophy. Be kind to everyone, no matter what. Be kind to who is kind to you. Be kind when it’s of use to you.

I think that the second one is by far the most popular. After all, why would you be kind to someone who isn’t kind to you? Why help someone who doesn’t help you? Why put effort into something when you will never get that effort back? Well, there is actually a very good reason: If everyone would be nice to everyone, no matter what, then all of those who are only kind to kindness would respond with kindness too. The issue is that someone will have to go first.

In economics we often discuss the prisoner’s dilemma. As long as you don’t know what the other will do, and you have no influence on it, then people choose the least risk or the most benefit for themselves, even if that is not necessarily the best for all parties involved. And that’s what happens in the world. If we would all be brave enough to take a chance on kindness then the rest would follow. But as long as we do not trust each other that’s a utopia.

I wish I could make everyone strive for peace and kindness, but I can’t. What I can do, however, is be a start. A start of a change. I choose to be kind and if that is taken advantage of then that’s okay because I also know that a lot of the times it is paid forward and that’s all that’s needed for it to spread. Ordinary acts of kindness and the guts to start. Who’s with me?