American Novelist Henry James once said, "Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind, the second is to be kind, and the third is to be kind". He is not too far wrong. For kindness comes from the heart of God. To be kind is one of the noblest expressions of God's character. How can we be known for kindness? What does kindness do for us? Here are some truths.

For kindness to be sincere, it must come from the heart. It cannot be forced or coerced. Genuineness cannot be manufactured. Kindness at its best stems from a sincere heart, without any strings attached. We do it without expecting any reward. Kindness stems from the paradigm that humans are important regardless of their status or race or religion-important enough for us to pause to think about others and exercise goodness to them.

The genesis of kindness is gratitude. For kindness to stem from our heart, we need to learn to be grateful. An ungrateful person will find it difficult to be kind. He will always feel short-changed, left out, and neglected. On the contrary, a grateful person realizes that the world does not owe him/her a living. Such a person is grateful for what he has even if it is just a little because he appreciates the grace of God.

A kind person does not take life for granted, and is always grateful for a new day, always appreciative of others, and always seeing the light in the midst of darkness. Therefore, he is reaching out, always finding ways to share his resources with others because all good things come from God. Out of a grateful heart, he showers kindness spontaneously.

Kindness begets kindness. I believe that we can be kind. The problem is that we have not been observant enough and/or have taken things for granted. We should affirm and applaud kindness. We need to be observant and notice kind deeds. In the family, children and parents, among friends, among colleagues in the office and in the School, teachers and students-all need to affirm kindness shown to one another. It is a truism that when we do something well, nobody remembers. But when we do something wrong, nobody forgets. Let's reverse this trend and create a kinder society. Let's observe kind acts and be spontaneous and generous in affirming them.

The spiritual practice of kindness consists of little acts-a word of thanks, a nod of approval, and a tip at a restaurant, a smile for a weary worker, a greeting on the street, a hug for a friend. Many couples are realizing that big crises do not threaten a marriage as much as the small differences and conflicts. They are like "termites in relationship."

In our fast-paced and achievement oriented life, relationships are not nurtured but allowed to slide into neglect and indifference. We become presumptuous of one another. Then, as we fail to receive kindness, we become callous, mean and spiteful. And we spiral down the black hole of unkindness. And many couples wonder why they have lost their romantic chemistry. In reality, they have lost the art of being kind. That is why we need to promote kindness because it may be the clue in salvaging our family life.

Largesse enlarges our lives. Frederick Buechner writes, "The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt." Our acts of kindness have reverberations that are felt way beyond our imagination.

Hence, we must remember that small things count. It will make a great difference to our marriage, family, organization and society. Like charity, kindness begins at home. However, it should not just stay within the confines of the home. It must spread to our neighbors, our schools and our corporate worlds. When we experience kindness and act kindly, we can experience God more fully because God is kind, very kind.