Splurging on Kindness

According to the National Day Calendar website, June 18 is “National Splurge Day,” which was created in 1994 “as a way to encourage consumers to go out and indulge a little with the hopes of adding a little boost to the economy.” Benedictines, and all people who try to adhere to a simple lifestyle and curb the pernicious effects of consumerism, clearly need an alternate occasion to celebrate. How about “National Splurge on Kindness Day”?

Ideally kindness is part of our daily life, but it wouldn’t hurt to highlight its importance with a special day when we are profligate in our warmhearted-ness. We can start and end the day with prayers of gratitude for God’s unfailing kindness to us and recall the people who have touched our lives throughout the years with their thoughtful support. National Splurge on Kindness Day wouldn’t require us to make any purchases, although payment would be involved in the sense of paying attention to others—seeing them, noticing their struggles, and offering them a compliment or words of support.

Yesterday Valerie Luckey, OSB, made a presentation at the pre-chapter meeting of the Federation of St. Scholastica in which she said, “We’re not called to be consumers of life but creators of life.” Are we simply going to deplete the resources of our beautiful world to satisfy our own desires, or will we choose to create a way of life in which it is easier to see Christ in each other and act with love and compassion? Splurging on kindness—not just one day a year, but on a regular basis—would be a good place to start.