Written By: Emily Winter, The Letter Project Board Member

You cannot reach everyone with a hug, but you can touch anyone with your words. Our words linger with such vast power that even our silence unveils how we want to be heard.

Above is a thank you note from an author that I greatly admire. She is a New York Times Bestseller, and during any free moment I had, my eyes were glued to every page of her book. Her words rode the bus with me to work and tucked me in before bed. With esteem, I may not have agreed with every sentence or ideology of how she proposed our society should progress, but I needed to tell her how much I respected her work. I sent her a message, not thinking I would hear a response, and to my pleasant surprise, she took the five minutes.

A simple note, exchanged between two people to express encouragement, praise, thanks or appreciation can change the trajectory of one’s day. As evinced in Pride and Prejudice, “Every sentence of kindness was a fresh source of happiness to Jane.” Each of us can concurrently be kind and speak with bold opinion. As some may speculate, kindness is not a source of weakness of a woman’s tempered thought or withheld judgment. Rather kindness is a special tool used to demonstrate that we have listened. Ultimately, it is only when we hear other’s shared experiences, that our own words and thoughts become more meaningful. A guaranteed platform for good, when you are kind, you are not merely heard, but you are remembered.

I dare you: I dare you to take the five minutes. Say something kind or write kind words and send them. Whether it be to a family member, your best friend, your crush, a neighbor, or a stranger. Whether it be a woman in the writer’s portal who you do not know personally or to the person standing behind you at the checkout line. And if you cannot find it in you to be kind to others right now, then please, always choose to be kind to yourself.

Take Action: Journal or ask a girl or woman:

What is something easy I/you can do to be kind this week?

Songs about kindness:

Try a Little Kindness by Glen Campbell

Be Kind by Marshmello, Halsey

Kind Woman by Buffalo Springfield

Kindness by Isla Vista Worship, Mark Barlow, Hailey Swags

Books about kindness:

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Scripture about kindness: