Audrey Hepburn
"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."
If there is anyone who represents grace and beauty, it's Audrey Hepburn. True to form, her words inspire us to do better in all ways, including the interactions we have with friends and the rest of the world. People often wonder why you should be kind to strangers, but the fact is you never know who might one day turn out to be a friend.
This quote also speaks to the fact that you should be secure in yourself before trying to find friends. In "knowing that you are never alone," it calls up images of a higher power, and knowing that you are okay by yourself, in the company of angels. Being comfortable with alone time will help you when it comes to maintaining a healthy friendship, because you'll put less pressure on your friends to keep you busy and fill your time.
Sophocles
"One who knows how to show and to accept kindness will be a friend better than any possession."
Perhaps your issue isn't that you're missing out on kindness to others, but on accepting the nice things that friendship can bring to your life. This includes compliments, favors, and even gifts. If you have a hard time receiving kindness, your friend won't understand how to relate to you.
Og Mandino
"Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again."
What a way to spell things out in black and white! Og Mandino makes a beautiful point here: life is short. Be kind to your friends and family. Today. Now.
This includes:
- Listening more and talking less.
- Doing nice things before someone needs to ask you to do them.
- Encouraging friends even if you happen to disagree with their choices or viewpoint.
Jesse Jackson
"Never look down on anybody unless you're helping them up."
I love this thought about arrogance and judgment, namely that it doesn't belong in friendship, or even in the way we interact with others. Everyone can fall on hard times, so if you think you're better than someone else and "above" them, think again.
Sometimes people look down on a friend when they go through a divorce, lose their job, or even when they're having a hard time and need a few more friends.
Rather than feel smug, help your friend in any way you can.
Plato
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle."
This quote says it all. Be kind to your friends, but also strangers. You never know when someone will be a friend, and some kindness may just help you start up a new friendship.
Princess Diana
"Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you."
This is a wonderful attitude to apply to your life. I like that Princess Diana is recommending that we be kind, not with the hope that someone will help us when we need it, but with the expectation that it will happen. Be positive that the good things you do in your life will come back to you.