In Defense of Kindness: Why It Matters, How It Changes Our Lives, and How It Can Save the World
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In Defense of Kindness: Why It Matters, How It Changes Our Lives, and How It Can Save the World

In Defense of Kindness: Why It Matters, How It Changes Our Lives, and How It Can Save the World

by Bruce Reyes-Chow

Overview

When did kindess become a sign of weakness? What if kindness actually has the power to change the world? Culture is at a crossroads when it comes to kindness. These days we either view kindess as an inert act based on the absence of being a jerk, or we see acts of kindness as heroic and herculean, beyond the reach and capability of mere mortals. Choosing kindness is also exhausting. The public and private back-and-forth exchanges of hatred and de-humanizing that is more about ratings, retweets, and winning than relationships and community is taking a toll on our motivation to even contemplate kindness as a valid response. In Defense of Kindness makes a case that we each can choose kindness as a way to experience community and wholeness in new ways. With a playful spirit, tender heart, and unwavering commitment to justice, "kindness enthusiast" Reyes-Chow explores the many ways in which kindness can bring about healing, wholeness, and hope in ourselves and the world. Through unfiltered sharing of his own experiences, Bruce invites the reader into an adventure of discovery and rediscovery of kindness of heart, mind, spirit, and action.

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Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780827216761
Publisher: APG Sales & Distribution
Publication date: 03/16/2021
Pages: 144
Sales rank: 150,398
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Bruce Reyes-Chow is a kindness enthusiast. A Presbyterian Pastor, Leadership Coach, spouse of 30 years, and parent to three children, he has spent the past 25 years working with individuals and organizations helping them to work through conflict and change having to do with technology, race, relationships, religion, leadership, and change.

He has seen most breakthroughs when kindness --the ability to see the humanity of the other and then behave in a way that honors that belief-- is embraced, embodied, and expressed by all involved.

Author of and contributor to books such as, "But I Don't See You as Asian: Curating Conversations About Race", "Rule #2: Don't Be an Asshat: An Official Handbook for Raising Parents and Children:, and "40 Days, 40 Prayers, 40 Words: Lenten Reflections for Everyday Life", he now takes on what seems a most daunting task in today's world of so much physical violence, dehumanizing rhetoric, and divisive rage-tweeting -- the defense of kindness.

Table of Contents

Preface xvii

An Introduction xxi

Kindness Defined 1

Kindness Debunked 9

Kindness as Commodity 17

Kindness as Competition 23

Kindness and Privilege 27

Kindness and Conflict 31

Kindness and Those Closest to Us 39

Kindness and the Public Square 45

Kindness and the Everyday 55

Kindness and Institutional Change 61

Kindness and Resistance 69

Kindness and Walking Away 77

Kindness and Forgiveness 85

Kindness and Saviorism 91

Kindness and the Internet 95

Kindness and the Impossible 103

Won't You Choose Kindness? 109

Acknowledgments 113

Keep in Touch 115

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