We all have bad days sometimes—days when accessing our inner kindness seems harder than others. Maybe you are at the end of your rope after a long week, or perhaps you received some really bad news that has negatively affected your mood. It happens to all of us.
But because acts of kindness create powerful ripple effects in our world, it’s important to always try to show kindness toward the animals (and humans) we share it with. So on those days when I lack the energy for that extra push for kindness, I like to remember and get inspired by some of my favorite quotes. Here are 12 powerful quotes on kindness that I’d like to share with you. Which one is your favorite?
1. “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” ~Dalai Lama
2. “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” ~Aesop
3. “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
4. “A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.” ~Amelia Earhart
5. “Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” ~Henry James
6. “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” ~Plato
7. “Always try to be a little kinder than you have to be.” ~J.M. Barrie
8. “No one has ever become poor by giving.” ~Anne Frank
9. “For it is in giving that we receive.” ~Francis of Assisi
10. “A dog has one aim in life … to bestow his heart.” ~J.R. Ackerley, literary editor
11. “I prefer you to make mistakes in kindness than work miracles in unkindness.” ~Mother Teresa
12. “Choose being kind over being right and you’ll be right every time.” ~Richard Carlson, author