If You Can Be Anything, Be Kind

Byodo-In Temple, located at the foot of the Ko’olau Mountains in Valley of the Temples Memorial Park.

Despite every unpredictable twist and turn of my life, kindness has always been my way through.

Kindness is authentic. It’s not performative or transactional, but a quiet gesture of trust and connection. It says, “I may not have all the answers. I may not fully understand your story. But I accept you as you are, right here, right now.”

Kindness comes in many subtle forms—whether it be something as simple as a smile, letting someone go ahead of you, picking up something that was dropped, offering a helping hand, or perhaps something more tangible. Each act of kindness, small or large, is a way of extending ourselves—saying, “Hi. I see you, and I care about your well-being.”

Kindness is a peace offering. A bridge. A reminder that even when we feel so different from one another, we still share something essential: our humanity.

So, don’t stop being kind. Don’t stop connecting—with strangers, with friends and family you’ve drifted from, with those who may have been taught to mistrust you (or vice versa) because of things beyond your control.

Even when someone is lost, misguided, or hostile, we can still offer kindness—not because it will always change them, but because it keeps us grounded in who we are. It’s a form of compassion that expects nothing in return but offers everything.  And I believe that’s the highest form of love there is.

Built in 1963, the Byodo-In Temple is a Hawaii state landmark. Oahu’s stunning Buddhist temple is a replica of the Byodo-In temple in Uji, in Kyoto Prefecture in Japan.