Defining Kindness

What is kindness, then? What sort of behavior do we have in mind when we say that someone has been kind to us or to others? I think the essence of kindness is being thoughtful for others more than for myself in any particular situation. 

To be kind means to want to help others, to encourage or comfort them, to do something that serves or benefits them. In order to be kind to others, I need to put myself in their shoes and think what I would most want or need them to do for me—and then do it for them.