Thinking Kind Thoughts

    I try to teach my children the importance of kindness.  I try to model this with my own actions.  I commit acts of kindness on a regular basis.  If I see someone in need I always step in to help (whether they want want me to or not).  I try to do the right thing.  I insist that in our home the children treat each other with kindness.  Kindness is important.  I say all of this and believe it with all of my heart and yet I am a hypocrite.
    I preach kindness, and yet my harsh words are teaching something else.  I am a very critical person.  I would never ever say an unkind word to anyone, but I have no problems with saying unkind things behind their backs.  I realized the other day how much my "unkind" words have become ingrained in my children.  The other day I heard one of the kids talking about someone that we know using very unkind words.  They were using the exact words that I had used myself to describe this person's physical appearance.  There was nothing that I could say, because it was my exact words.  This was a teachable moment, but instead of my teaching the kids, they had taught me.
    I need to find the beauty in others, instead of seeing their faults.  I need to do this, and then teach the kids to do this.  I need to not only practice outward acts of kindness,  I need to be thinking kind thoughts.  I am a work in progress and sometimes I need reminded of this...