Having come across a line the other day that stopped me in my tracks, I wanted to share it with you — not because it was clever, but because it was so clear.

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“Don’t wait for other people to be loving, giving, compassionate, grateful, forgiving, generous, or friendly . . . lead the way!” — Steve Maraboli

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That simple idea has a way of lingering.

So often, we wait.

We wait for the mood in the room to improve.
We wait for someone else to soften first.
We wait for the world to give us permission to be kind.

But kindness has never needed permission.

Being loving, generous, or compassionate is not something done after conditions improve. More often than not, it is the very thing that improves them.

Leading the way does not have to be loud.
It does not require a spotlight or a platform.

Sometimes it looks like:

• offering patience when impatience would be easier
• choosing gratitude when complaint feels tempting
• being friendly without checking first to see if it will be returned

Small acts, yes — but small acts have a way of traveling farther than expected. Like ripples on water, they move outward quietly, reaching people and places we may never know about. And isn’t that a good thing?

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There is a quiet power in deciding to go first.

First to Smile.
First to Forgive.
First to offer Grace.

In uncertain or heavy times, that choice matters even more — not because it fixes everything, but because it reminds us, and those around us, of who we still are —
that we are human, and that we care.

There is no way to know who needed to see that kindness today.
No way to measure the ripple it may have started.

And that is all right. What matters is simply that the kindness was offered.

The world does not change only through grand gestures. Sometimes it shifts because one person decided not to wait.

So if there is a question about what to do today, perhaps this is enough —

Be the Loving one.
Be the Generous one.
Be the Friendly one.

Lead the way.

Doesn’t that feel like a good place to begin — leading with Kindness?

‘Til next time.  — Jim  (and Red!)

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These illustrations were created with the assistance of AI