I have worked in customer service since my first job when I was 16 years old. Currently, I am working in a job where everything revolves around the guests that visit, and my newest promotion comes with the price tag of being the punching bag for guests' insults.
Just the other day I had a lady get angry with me for doing my job the way that I am supposed to. We have a certain organization to our process that confuses some guests. Once given an explanation for why we organize the way we do, most people think it actually makes more sense than they originally thought. This lady was not at all happy that we had this process, but never once gave me the chance to explain it.
Of course I was having an inner response to every insult and rude question she was throwing at me. I value my job very much though, so I withheld what I really wanted to say to her. All the while she was yelling at me and cutting off every kind response I had, while her son was standing silently watching on.
After she left, the main thought on my mind was that her son witnessed all of the behavior that she took out on me. I honestly felt bad for the boy, hoping desperately that he wouldn't grow up to be anything like his mother. He treated my coworker with kindness, asking for help and thanking her when she tried to.
In general, my mom always taught me to choose kindness even when I was frustrated with people or circumstances. Don't get me wrong, my mom taught me to stand up for myself when I was wronged but taught me to do so respectfully. When I think about circumstances I've found myself in, I've always been one to strive for kindness and respect even when upset.
Too many people today are so disrespectful, too quick to jump down someone's throat for something that isn't even their fault. People angrily react in situations and although they had the gusto to go off on someone, they don't have the gusto to apologize when they realize their mistake.
I would hope that my generation, and the generations to come, would change the downward trend I've seen. I hope that they choose kindness over getting angry at someone who doesn't deserve to be yelled at. Even someone who might deserve to be yelled at deserves kindness because in turn, they could start choosing kindness too.
In any given moment, when I choose to be kind, I feel better about the situation later. Half the time, I end up forgetting why I was mad in the first place. Choosing to be kind has ultimately allowed me to live a more stress-free and happy life.
I want to teach my kids to be kind, and I hope my generation does the same. A kind world is what we could use. No more senseless Twitter wars, no more backstabbing, no more losing your temper in public and causing an unnecessary scene.
Our world needs kindness. We need to spread being kind to each other and having compassion and patience. If we were more kind, our world would look a little brighter and the people would live a little happier.