"Two important things are to have a genuine interest in people and to be kind to them. Kindness, I've discovered, is everything in life."
Polish Novelist
1902 - 1991
Are you curious about people? Are you interested in their stories? Novelists and storytellers need to have a strong interest in people. To tell a great story, a novelist has to understand people and their motives. I think the same is true of a portrait artist? In order to paint someone, an artist needs to see inside the person. An artist is painting more than the surface. An artist must paint the heart and soul of a person. So again, my question: Do you seek people out and listen to their stories?
The second part of this statement is even more important — being kind to others. The world is in need of a lot of kindness today. Kindness must start one person at a time. I must first be kind before I can expect others to be kind. Am I kind to those around me? To family, friends and strangers on the street? How should I demonstrate my kindness? How do I show my caring? Can you be kind without loving the person? What is the demonstrable difference between love, caring and kindness? Or are they cut from the same cloth?
