Kindness

I loved the talk by Elder Wirthlin today. The story that he told about when he was a young boy brought me tears. It may have been that he was the same age as my own sweet little boy, or just the simple faith and great courage it took for him as a child to stand up to his own friends. Too often, even as adults, we stand by idly as friends or family do things that we are uncomfortable with. I know that for myself, I often lack the courage to speak up for fear of the repercussions.

The story Elder Wirthlin told was of a boy he knew as a child. The boy had physical and mental disabilities and was often a target for other children's bullying. Some of these bullies were friends of the young Elder Wirthlin. They would push around the handicapped boy and make fun of him. At one point the boy told the bullies, "You are not being kind to me!" but it made no difference to the bullies. Finally Elder Wirthlin could stand it no longer. He, at 7 years old, found the courage to tell his friends to stop being unkind and to stop hurting this disabled boy. He admitted to being concerned that this may be the end of some friendships, however, it wasn't. His friends instead listened to him and began treating this other boy with kindness.

Imagine what a huge difference this must have made for the disabled boy! All because one 7 year old boy had the courage to stand up to his friends. What a great example this story is for me. We aren't always aware of what our words or actions can mean to another person. So easily we can influence someone else's life in a positive... or a negative way. And really, how difficult is it to share a kind word with another person?