A few weeks ago we were doing some Spring(ish) cleaning. In one of the boxes that we have moved several times but have yet to successfully open, I found a VCR tape from Blockbuster Video. Back in the day, this was how we watched movies at home. This is how it worked- you would go to a store like Blockbuster Video and rent a tape that you then take home and put in the VCR. At the store, you would hope that your favorite new release was in stock. If it was not (and you couldn’t procure it from the recently returned stack that you hovered over while the clerk gave you the stink eye) then you would have to watch something else. I digress.

Wondering just how much this would cost me in late fees, I opened the case. On the tape was a sticker that said, Be Kind, Rewind. Just add it onto my late fees. 

After I put down the case, I got to thinking about what a simple act it was to rewind a video; and how often we failed to do so. Be Kind. Rewind. 

Kindness seems to be in short supply in our culture these days. Offering kindness to a fellow human being is a simple act, yet one that we often to fail to do. I understand kindness as a way to say to another- you are a fellow human being and I recognize your sacred worth and dignity. 

Many find it difficult to be kind to themselves. We go to the gym for ten days straight, yet get down on ourselves for missing the 11th day.  Heck, the other day I ordered a coffee on the Starbucks mobile app and went to the wrong store to pick it up. I felt like a fool for the rest of the day.

When Jesus commanded us to “love God and love neighbor” he knew that both are difficult. Struggling to see our own sacred worth and dignity makes it awfully hard to extend it to others.

Maybe we need the reminder that Blockbuster offered so many years ago. Stickers or signs that say Be Kind. Rewind. It’s a good reminder of what we need to offer to ourselves so that we can offer it to others.

Many of our problems aren’t easy fixes. This one can be.

Kindness matters

Kindness makes a difference

I bet we can do a better job with each other than we did with our videos. Not being kind will cost us a lot more than rewind and late fees did.

Be Kind