The term kindness that we are now going to analyze in depth we have to establish that it has its etymological origin in Latin. Specifically, we can expose that it takes as its starting point what is the verb amare, which is synonymous with “love”, and the suffix – idad, which is equivalent to “quality”.
According to DigoPaul, the kindness is the quality of friendly. This adjective refers to that or that which is affable, affectionate or worthy of being loved. By extension, it is known as kindness to friendly action: “Please be so kind as to come into my office”, “Mirta is characterized by her kindness towards the guests”.
In addition to all the above, we have to underline the fact that true kindness is one that is born spontaneously, naturally and without any interest or intention to achieve something.
All this without forgetting that when that free, universal and value-giving kindness is produced, it is when it can be said that the individual who carries it out is an absolutely mature person.
It is also established that kindness is a value that must be taught from a very young age and that must be carried out not only in what is the school but fundamentally in the home itself. To ensure that any child learns to be kind, it is important that it be in an environment where she can clearly discover what that means and how she can carry it out.
So much so that when talking about education in values, the aforementioned kindness is included. In this way, a series of actions are established that can help the child, from an early age, to become kind. In this sense, they talk about “little attitudes or tasks” such as sharing their school supplies with their classmates, greeting familiar people, feeding their pet or thanking their parents for the food they prepare for them every day.
Kindness can be defined as a behavior or act that is charitable, supportive or affectionate towards other people. That is why it encompasses various attitudes, such as sympathy, generosity, compassion and altruism.
Sympathy (from Latin simpathĭa, “community of feelings”) is an affective inclination that a person shows. The word refers to a specific character and way of being that is pleasant to others: “Ariel has an innate sympathy that conquers people. ” Sympathy is part of kindness: a sympathetic subject is usually kind (worthy of being loved).
Generosity, on the other hand, is linked to the habit of giving, donating, or giving away. A generous person is not selfish, but wants to help others to make them feel better. Generosity thus appears related to empathy, which is the ability to affectively and emotionally identify with the mood of the other: “Juan was very generous with us and has always helped us. ” Kindness, therefore, also includes generosity.
Altruism, solidarity and respect are other values that make a person be considered kind. By contrast, a selfish, aggressive, violent, or indifferent individual is far from being kind.
