The elegance of kindness

 A boy walks through a child-sized arch in the 

community gardens at the Brick Works in Toronto, Canada.

These gardens were near the building where I first

started painting with my art club, the DVAC and

met my very kind friend George.

Elegance is something we all crave -- elegant homes,
stylish cars, luxurious vacations and clothes.  But I
would argue that the most important form of elegance
is kindness.  Every act of kindness is an act of love,
and as such is the sign of true elegance.  When you
help someone else in small or major ways, pay someone
a compliment, or notice the kind actions others
have performed for you, you make the world a better
place.  This isn't a new idea I know, but it's an
important one.

 A friend of mine, a fellow artist, died last week.
 In a month we will have a memorial to pay him tribute.
We are calling it a celebration, but I imagine there
will not be a dry eye in our small art club room, next to a local
library.  What I hope will resonate with everyone
present, is that a life well lived with a sense of
elegance is a life filled with kindness.  And
that is what our friend, a wonderful artist too,
had going for him.  Even confined to a wheelchair
with ALS, only able to move the device when
someone moved one hand onto the controls for
him, my friend had the grace that comes from
thoughtfulness.  He listened to my stories,
and beamed at me.  And in my mind he was still
the vigorous man he'd been a couple of years
before, who traveled around Europe appreciating
and making art, and was no doubt welcome
wherever he went.

My friend George knew how to smile, knew how
to care, and I think he definitely had figured out
how to be happy.

Have a being-kind-for-the-joy-of-it day