Kindness

I have been thinking a lot about kindness, which is also having a social media moment—you can watch TikToks about “undercover” kindness and read Instagram posts about random acts of kindness. Like all social media, it’s addictive and sometimes even feels good, and because of it, I recently Venmoed an unhoused  mother to help her buy a tiny house. While kindness to people we don’t and will never know is important, even more crucial is kindness to those we know and love — including ourselves. Stop, ground yourself, and thank yourself for all you’ve done to get to this moment. Every last thing. Tell yourself how proud you are of taking care of those you love. Look in the mirror, into your own eyes, and say, “I love you.” Be kind to yourself. It’s much harder than it sounds.

For Sherrie Levine’s piece After Walker Evans (1981), she photographed a reproduction of Evans’s iconic photo of Allie Mae Burroughs, the wife of an Alabama sharecropper. The image illustrates that there is always more happening than we can see or know without asking. Tragically, last weekend my husband and I attended a remembrance service for the husband of a long time friend who took his own life. And this morning, I came across the line, “I would rather hear your story than attend your funeral.” This is true for me and every single person I know or don’t yet know. At the reception following the service everyone kept talking about “silver lining.” Maybe herein lies one for me, the opportunity to remind you: You matter!

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