¶ … Kindness It may sound cliched, but I believe that kindness is a self-perpetuating cycle. When I take positive steps to improve the lives of others, this can inspire them to go forward and take such steps themselves. In such a way, acts of kindness can grow exponentially throughout a family, community, or nation.

I recently had the opportunity to start a chain reaction of kindness when volunteering with my daughter's cheerleading squad. I have known most of the girls on the squad for years, many of them since they were little girls themselves. Now that they are adolescents, they are prone to the high emotional volatility that plagues all teenagers. This sometimes means that when they are under stress or feeling low, they turn on each other instead of constructively looking for a positive outlet for their emotions. After my daughter came home in tears after several practices, I learned that several of the girls were making fun of her hair....

Of course, it didn't help to tell my daughter that I thought she was beautiful -- a mother's love is always suspect to a teenage girl. Instead, I suggested to the cheerleading coach that a team-building exercise might help to boost their confidence and their relationships with each other. The girls and I ended up volunteering at a local youth shelter with a friend of mine who is a beautician. Together, we did the hair and makeup of over a dozen young ladies who had been living under very difficult circumstances and hadn't had the chance to get their nails or hair done in a very long time, if ever. This allowed my daughter to realize the joy that comes from helping other people feel good about themselves, and also allowed the girls who had made fun of her to find an outlet for some of their angst. It was with great pleasure that I watched my daughter and the girls who had bullied her work together to help a young homeless girl feel pretty. This might seem like a…