What Does It Mean to Live in Kindland?

Photo Credit: EPIC Assist

If I told you I live in Kindland, you would think I was engaged in fantasy, trying to tell you a sweet story, trying to lure you into an imaginative realm.  Who could possibly live in a place called Kindland?  Who made up this imaginary place? 

Kindland is real and it is Cleveland, Ohio.  Yes, it’s real.  And, yes, it’s Cleveland.  Initially, the brainchild of Stuart Muszynski, whom I referred to in a long past blog, began the movement toward Kindland under a group called Values in Action whose sole purpose was to bring attention to persons or organizations acting in kindness on behalf of others.  Values in Action has already attracted some influential organizations to participate.  Last weekend was the inaugural Kindness Summit held at Cleveland State University and it included thoughtful participants from the education, business, media, and faith communities giving presentations and holding panels on what the city can do to become kinder and more compassionate.  Kelly Woodard, director of communications for Cuyahoga County said, “The fact that we need a summit to be reminded to be kind is worrisome.”  And yet, speakers affirmed that to be kind takes a lot of courage because some overwhelming issues in politics and governance are rooted in partisan angst innocuous to change.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio’s largest newspaper based in Cleveland, has enthusiastically joined Kindland becoming a partner in gathering and publishing stories about people doing kind acts which impact the greater good of the community.  Executive editor, Chris Quinn referred to a study which said that when people read a story about kindness after reading stories about distressing news, they had more optimistic views of the world than people who read only the bad-news stories.  Quinn requested that readers contact the newspaper to suggest stories of kindness they either know about or have experienced.  He said, “We’re interested in acts of kindness anywhere we can get them.” 

Cleveland is the “biomedical mecca” of America employing over 160,000 people holding up and promoting this distinction and yet “we are failing at infant mortality and life expectancy gaps.”  Who is doing the work to combat that?  What are our admired higher education institutions doing “to make the region and our people better beyond providing educational opportunities at cost?”

The Summit generated many questions and challenges for each section the city’s civic and religious lives to address.  Participants walked away enlivened by a sense of purpose and mission for the groups they represented.

Reflection

Maybe telling the stories of kindness will elevate or expose the work that many do in parishes, religious communities, Catholic Charities, and the many unsung volunteer religious agencies throughout the city.  This exposure will surely attract others to join in the efforts toward kindness.  I encourage you to think of what you can do or to explore what you see as a need and try to address it.  Some possibilities include: 1. Bringing the Eucharist to people in the hospital or to the homebound.  2. Working with the elderly in a nursing home or senior living complex—Just ask how you can help.  3. Volunteering at a school for whatever they may need.  Visiting a lonely neighbor and bringing a dinner or taking her or him out for dinner or entertainment.  These are only a few of what you can do as acts of kindness. 

According to journalist Peter Chakerian, no matter what organization or community you might represent, you will find it helpful to reflect on two very thoughtful questions: “What Would a Community Called Kindness Look Like?” and “What is the Soul of Our Community?”  Think about this.  Would my community look any different from the way it looks now if it were called a Community of Kindness?  The second, more existential question, requires more depth and the grounding of one’s faith tradition.  One’s actions give witness to one’s soul.  Are they acts of kindness, compassion, mercy, and love?

I am proud that my city is making a collective effort to address the need for kindness in the present maelstrom of divisiveness and downright meanness.  Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is repeatedly warning about the deleterious effects of loneliness in a society bonded to technology and social media.  He reports that increasing physical maladies can often be directly related to what he calls, the “epidemic of loneliness.”  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to apply kindness where loneliness festers and then to see new growth and radiant health take root?  It is our responsibility to the common good. 

This week, reflect on these questions and their pertinence to your personal spirituality and the building of the kingdom of God here on this vulnerable Earth, the house of our achievements and our failures and most of all, our love.

To learn more about Kindland, visit:

The Kindland Summit, boxcast.tv

Tinyurl.com/kindland

Quotes taken from, “Kindland Summit tackles lofty ideals, launches partnership with cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer,” by Peter Chakerian, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Sunday, September 24, 2023, p. A18.Quote from Chris Quinn: “We’re going to chronicle acts of kindness, hoping to inspire more,” The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Sunday, September 24, 2023, p. E4.