Kind Or In-Kind? (part three)

Always be kind. Act in-kind to the kind and kind to the un-kind.

At the same time we must recognize that our kindness should not lend itself to consciously and/or repeatedly exposing ourselves to un-kind. Your kindness to un-kind has limits. If your kindness doesn’t lend itself to a re-examination from the un-kind one, you need to protect yourself.

A lifeguard is taught that if they swim out to save someone and that person resists, the lifeguard must make the difficult decision of protecting their own life and leaving the other to possibly drown. The lifeguard can leave a flotation device and call for assistance, but it’s their own life they need to preserve at that point. If you don’t save and protect yourself, you are not available to help others and fulfill your purpose and mission. This approach applies to all that come into your life.

P.S. This scenario assumes you can’t save the other and you would both drown.  If the scenario was that you could save the other and give your life, that’s a different question for another post.

read part one here     part two here