I would like to acknowledge the great initiative and partnership by Southern Highland News, Highland FM and Community Links Wellbeing.

The passion and commitment shown by Highland FM's Adam Stokeld has been a seed that has been planted in fertile soil and with the SHN and CLW working to cultivate this initiative, it is my hope that it will become a locally successful annual event.

Kindness seems such a small thing, but the potential for this seed to grow and blossom is absolute.

Imagine if we all practiced kindness on a daily basis.

How would our lives be different, how would our personal relationships change, how would our service to humanity prosper and how would our community, our environment and life in general become more meaningful and happy?

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The Dalai Lama has said as long as we observe love for others and respect for their rights and dignity in our daily lives, then whether we are learned or unlearned, whether we believe in the Buddha or God, follow some religion or none at all, as long as we have compassion for others and we conduct ourselves with restraint out of a sense of responsibility, there is no doubt we will be happy.

Great souls have shown the way through not only in their words, but by their action for millennia, sadly in our haste to "just survive" we have forgotten these simple truths and the fact that we are all connected.

We seem to have forgotten the power and simple beauty of kindness and that it is in our power to change the way we live in this community through our acts of kindness.

Let us remember this simple truth.

No need for convoluted analysis or doctrines. No need to for prescriptive rules or regulations, nor formal training, or membership to any club or association.

We have the wealth of giving this gift within us.

Swami Vivekananda said "Kindness and love can buy you the whole world; lectures and books and philosophy all stand lower than these."

It is as simple as remembering the words of Christ when he said "do unto others", surely the gift of kindness is a gift we would all wish to receive and it is truly in the giving of kindness that we in return receive the same.

At least for a month, let us remember and practice the power of kindness and the rewards that it can bring to our community.

Thanks again for this kindness initiative and remember the Dalai Lama's word's "Let our religion be kindness".