It is from numberless diverse acts of courage . . . that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.
—Robert F. Kennedy
In the beautiful children’s book Each Kindness, Jacqueline Woodson tells the story of a young girl named Chloe who, in the casual way that kids often do, treats a classmate cruelly. She is moved to change one day when her teacher demonstrates the way that water ripples when a stone is dropped in it.
So it goes with kindness, the teacher explains. When we do something nice for someone, it ripples through their lives and into the world, radiating goodness outward. Chloe is inspired by this . . . but it’s too late. The girl she was cruel to has moved away. Now when she throws a rock into the pond near her house, all she can think of are the lost opportunities she had to improve someone’s life, to make their day brighter.
This is something we must teach our kids—moreover, we must demonstrate to our kids. By treating them well, by showing them compassion and empathy and unconditional love, we help not only them but everyone they encounter. We can take heart knowing that this kindness, big and small, will ripple through their lives long after they’ve moved out, they’ve grown up, and we’re long gone.