“Being Truely Nice” – by Sue Patton Thoele

               
From the Book “The Woman’s Book of Soul” by Sue Patton Thoele

Being Truly Nice

I recently me Jill, a young woman who is a joy to be around. Everyone loves her and gravitates toward her. I can see why, because she is genuinely nice to each person she encounters. Recently I watched her interact with Priscilla, her difficult-to-get-along-with mother-in-law.

While Pricilla was grumping about something-a fairly consistent habit of hers-Jill silently reached over and stroked her arm. No judgment, just an accepting presence. During the entire weekend I was in her company, I never heard Jill say anything that wasn’t upbeat. Consequently, we all felt good around her-safe, seen, even savored.

Niceness sometimes connotes wimpiness, but that interpretation usually comes from the fact that many of us have felt that it was expected of us to make nice even when we didn’t feel nice. When we realize that niceness is a natural outgrowth of deep kindness and caring, we can consciously choose to develop our niceness quotient. We can set our intention to truly being nice, rather than putting on a phony nice front. Often, the simple desire to grow our soul through niceness helps us focus on coming from our hearts where true niceness flourishes.

It’s perfectly okay to act nice even when we don’t feel it as long as we’re doing so from personal choice, not from a sense of obligation or fear. Freely choosing to act nice will actually help us begin to embody the authentic niceness of our hearts.

Nice not only wears well, but, generally, it also fares well, for kindness is never our-of-date or out-of-style and is welcome in all circles. Everyone enjoys being uplifted in the safe haven of nice attitudes and actions. Being truly nice, as Jill is, makes us a heart-lifter.

I choose to act in kind and caring ways.

I am a heart-lifter.