Author Archives: Andy Smallman

About Andy Smallman

I consider myself a student of human nature. I love paying attention to those little things we do that point out that each of us is unique, especially those quirky things we do that cause others to smile. It's seeing the driver in the car next to you singing, or walking past a house and catching a glimpse of someone inside dancing. For years I've facilitated kindness classes online, if such a thing as a kindness "class" can exist. In these classes I hope to help people get in touch with their unique nature (more about this can be learned via my Kind Living project, http://kindliving.net). On this blog I hope to share with you some of my observations of human nature, using kindness as a focal point.

Where Do You Find Meaning?

blackpot

In an online kindness class I facilitated not too long ago, I asked this question of the participants. I gave them this little exercise to help, too… more

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Surprise Ahead

pilgrim

I choose to see myself as part of something larger, as part of a universe of beings all embedded with the desire to be kind. In this universe, one might say that there is a conspiracy going on – a positive conspiracy to, in its most optimistic interpretation, bring joy to every person in it. more

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Free time

KenDryden

What do you like to do with your “free time”? Or, perhaps more apt, do you get any time that is free? Time during which nothing has been planned, time that is okay to spend lost in thought, time that is completely…yours? more

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Just what is a flaw anyway?

Flaw

Can anything be beautiful without it having a flaw? Put another way, is it the flaws that make something unique, even beautiful? Seen in this light, is there such a thing as a flaw? more

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Things that matter most

Photo: cbssports.com

“The things that matter most must not be at the mercy of the things that matter least.” –Johann Wolfgang Goethe more

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A hand to hold

Photo by Fe Ilya via Flickr

Hand-holding makes us feel connected, safe, and supported. more

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