Once upon a time, in a far away land, things were different. People were kind, not because they needed to be, but because it was who they are. Their kindness flourished and was contagious. There were dancers, musicians, and artists who lived to show that each person is beautiful.
With COVID-19 spreading from person to person, it helps me to imagine an epidemic of kindness spreading across the world. What does kindness look like? How does it feel? Most of us are curled up at home on our couches or at our kitchen tables with very little contact to the outside world. How can we be kind when there is no one to be kind too?
An art exhibition I was in a month ago might just be an answer to this question, but you will have to decide for yourself. Picture downtown Chattanooga. In the streets a person yells; the car twists and turns under the bridges where some lay drowsily, while a plastic bag hits my window. “Half a mile to your destination,” says my GPS in a monotone voice. On the next street I pass, colorful town houses sit speckled with flowers from the windows to the mail box. I turn into the arts district. “You’ve arrived,” the GPS blankly states. “Not great company,” I sigh as I shove my GPS into the glove compartment after my long drive.
As I start to unload my paintings, I see tops of heads through the window as a young girl opens the door for me. In the middle of the Gallery, there are about 15 woman dancing in flowing dresses. They sing of the sorrows from the pain of illness. An illness that many people not only don’t understand, but don’t accept as valid, Eating Disorders. But here, in this large gallery filled with artistic souls, singers, dancers, and artists, we unite, sharing compassion, kindness, and healing.
As each person shared their stories of strength and hope through their art forms, themes began to arise. A man with long blond hair in his thirties strummed his guitar, and with tearful eyes explained the death of his good friend, and how he pulled himself through it. An Art Therapist spoke a poem of equality for all genders, and the clenching pain of sexism that she had experienced from an early age. I used my art to visually represent why body positivity is vital to our world, and how it effects me as a woman.
These are our stories; they begin and end with us. Kindness does not start with others, it starts from the healing that takes place within. In this land, people were kind. And it was contagious. Not because they needed to be, but because it was who they are.
Kindness starts with ourselves.