The Virtues Basket: How Do We Practice Kindness?

Who we are is a result of our choices. The first “Virtues Basket” video explores the meaning of kindness and how children and adults can apply it to daily life.

Baha’u’llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha’i Faith, said “O Son of Spirit! My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart…” His son and designated successor, Abdu’l-Baha, explained that we need to “be kind to everyone,” advising: “let your heart burn with loving-kindness for all who may cross your path.” 

This video explores the meaning and practical applications of kindness through beautiful, dynamic visuals, and in language that the whole family can understand! 

It explains how, when we act kindly, we give others the benefit of the doubt and choose to be kind. We realize that everyone has problems, might make mistakes, or might have a bad day. 

We all wish to be successful, happy, and loved. Author Stan Toler wrote: “the secret to a happier and more successful life is not to change your circumstances (you often can’t) or to control what others do (you never can). It’s to change the one thing over which you have absolute authority — your attitude.” 

Kindness improves our mental and physical health just as much as it improves the lives of those around us. The quality of kindliness makes our heart shine like a mirror that reflects the light of God “to all who may cross [our] path.”

It also explores how practicing kindness with a pure heart requires sincerity. Juliet Thompson, an early American Baha’i, wrote that Abdu’l-Baha counseled her about kindness with the following words:

Never let anyone speak of another unkindly in your presence. Should anyone do so, stop them. Tell them it is against the commands of Baha’u’llah; that He has commanded: ‘Love one another.’ Never speak an unkind word, yourself, against anyone. If you see something wrong, let your silence be your only comment…

Author Linda Kavelin Popov said that when we are kind to others, it helps both us and them because we are all connected. Practicing kindness helps us to be understanding of the world around us. Similarly, the Baha’i Writings indicate that “loving-kindness towards all creatures and the acquisition of the divine virtues” are “the fundamental principles of progress, civilization, international peace and the unity of mankind.” They take this even further, noting that kindness is among “the essentials of Baha’u’llah’s teachings, the secret of everlasting health, the remedy and healing for man.”

Kindliness is a choice to create good interpersonal habits; to accept people who are different, and to be kind to animals, our friends, and our families. Through kindness, we begin to build a new society: one where unity is at the heart of every human interaction.

This video is a wonderful way to share the concept of kindness with our loved ones and reflect on the ripple effect it can have on the world around us.