A Year of Sundays: The 38th Sunday (9/22/25)

Theme: Kindness Begins Within

This past week, the word kindness followed me like a gentle whisper. Not the grand, performative kind, but the quiet, restorative kind—especially the kind I so often forget to offer myself.

I have always considered myself a kind person. I go out of my way to be thoughtful to others. But this week, I noticed a gap: I am kinder to others than I am to myself. And that realization stopped me in my tracks.

In Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, Dr. Kristin Neff (2011) writes:

“Self-compassion involves treating yourself with the same kindness, concern, and support you'd show to a good friend” (p. 10).

I began to ask: Would I speak to my best friend the way I speak to myself when I mess up?Would I deny her rest? Push her to the edge? Criticize her for simply being tired?

The truth is, no. And yet, I do it to myself.

The Season Calls for Kindness

We are moving into a season of intense social, political, and emotional energy. Every headline feels like a storm cloud. But if there were ever a time to choose kindness—toward others and ourselves—it is now.

Catherine Denial, in A Pedagogy of Kindness (2022), reminds us:

“Kindness asks us to see others as complex, to consider the full context of their lives, and to do the same for ourselves” (p. 14).

Being kind is not weak. It is not indulgent. It is radical self-respect. And that begins with giving ourselves space to breathe, to feel, to be enough.

Wisdom from bell hooks

One of my favorite reminders came from the late bell hooks, whose work Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope (2003) speaks deeply to this moment. She wrote:

“Living simply makes loving simple. The choice to live simply necessarily enhances our capacity to love” (p. 83).

Maybe kindness starts with simplification. Slowing down. Saying “no” when you mean it. Saying “yes” to joy.

Reflection Prompt

Where in your life are you withholding kindness from yourself? What would it feel like to offer it generously this week?

Micro-Practice: The Mirror Moment

Stand in front of a mirror. Place your hand on your heart. Say softly, “I see you. I am proud of you. I am being kind to you today.”

Repeat daily. Let it land. You deserve it.

Affirmation of the Week

“I give myself permission to rest, to soften, and to receive the kindness I freely offer to others.”

References

• Denial, C. (2022). A pedagogy of kindness. University of Michigan Press.

• hooks, b. (2003). Teaching community: A pedagogy of hope. Routledge.

• Neff, K. (2011). Self-compassion: The proven power of being kind to yourself. William Morrow.