Feeling a little ‘off’ the other day, I turned inwards and endeavoured to get to the crux of why I am the way that I am (a health and wellness nut and obsessive of epic proportions). Why did the ‘wellness revolution’ resonate with me so hard and why was I determined to embody and share all that I could from the ‘wellness world’. And, call it an epiphany or whatever, I realised that it came down to one overarching virtue that I have harped on about my whole life – kindness. Every single ‘health’ and ‘wellness’ related change that I try to implement in my life comes back to kindness. 

+ Kindness to Myself – My new and daily priority. Showing myself love, respect and kindness. How I wish I could turn back the clock and undo those years of self hate and judgement. So much energy wasted on focussing on everything I wasn’t rather than spent celebrating everything that I am and everything that I have! Bless This Mess has encouraged me to be accountable and cherish my mini victories, my daily blessings and the things that I would usually let pass me by. 
+ Kindness to Others – I hate seeing people upset and I hate seeing injustice, cruelty and mistreatment of people close to home and in our wider communities. I have always been someone who strives to ‘keep the peace’ and mediate situations to avoid conflict and to avoid anyone feeling sadness (but obviously I’m far from perfect and I have personally cocked up from time to time, having not always acted ‘kindly’). This being said, I need to up the ante. I want to do more and I want to contribute more. Only speaking words of kindness and only showing love – my funky brand spankin’ new mantra.
+ Kindness to the World – I think I have always been somewhat conscious of the environmental consequences of our daily little habits but only to the extent of what I knew. As my interest in the world ‘outside my little bubble’ grows, I have sought to learn more about our world, our universe and the environmental costs of our Westernised living. I am slowly, slowly, slowly making changes and am trying to reduce my carbon footprint, ‘simplify’ my living, reduce toxicity in my life and in my home and start to make decisions that take the ‘greater good’ into account. Sigh, challenging but oh so important to me.

So, in a moment of pristine clarity and epiphany driven euphoria, I decided to launch a little side project. And how fitting that it be the beginning of July – a fresh start and an opportunity to press ‘reset’ and re-evaluate where you are and where you’d like the rest of 2013 to take you. Operation Kindness is  my new life pursuit, in a nutshell. It encompasses kindness to myself (by nourishing my body with nutrient rich and high quality foods; moving and challenging my body; training my mind to think loving, kind and positive thoughts and drive away negativity); kindness to others (by sharing my learning with others; seeking opportunities to share my blessings; volunteering and ‘making a difference’) and kindness to the world (eliminating toxins and chemicals in our home; shopping with an ‘eco-friendly’ mindset; honouring and encouraging the humane treatment of animals; learning more about and advocating for human rights).

I’ll be checking in, and staying accountable, on the blog and updating you on my kindness crusade as I strive to clean up my life and make it more simple, more loving and ultimately more kind.

I would LOVE to hear from you. Let’s start a kindness ripple and watch the waves roll in darling! What aspect of kindness do you resolve to start practicing daily? Kindness to yourself? Kindness to your friends, neighbours, colleagues, strangers? Kindness to animals? Kindness to the earth and living more harmoniously and with minimal impact? 

Blessings from my kind, happy, healthy and strongly beating heart x