By Kyle Ogden
I have a modest suggestion for anyone waiting for the world to become kinder: make the first move. Yes, even if the other person has been difficult. Even if you suspect your gracious gesture will go unappreciated. Especially if you have been rehearsing what you would like to say to that person in traffic. We all have our moments.
The trouble comes when those moments become our habits, and our habits begin to shape the places we share. A little impatience becomes an expectation of hostility. We stop asking questions because we assume we know the answers. We decide what kind of person someone is before we learn their name.
I believe we can interrupt that pattern. And I believe North Texas is ready to try.
November 7–14, Thanks-Giving Square is inviting our region to make kindness a shared undertaking. North Texas Kindness Week gives us a date on the calendar and something useful to do with our concern about how we are living together.
There is urgency here. Every time contempt becomes easier than curiosity, we lose a little ground. Every time someone decides there is no point in reaching out, a possibility closes. We cannot afford to let those choices become our civic personality.
Kindness asks something of us each day. It takes courage to welcome a person we do not understand, or to remain respectful when an argument gets heated. We can hold our convictions and still leave another person with their dignity intact.
Here is something that gives me hope: eight school districts and two private schools representing 213,390 students have committed to participating. With KERA as our Official Kindness Week Educational Partner, we have prepared curricula for elementary, junior high and high school students.
Think about the opportunity. A child practices including someone who feels left out. A teenager discovers that listening across a disagreement takes strength. Then those young people go home, where the adults may find themselves receiving a little continuing education. I would welcome the refresher.
We begin Saturday, November 7, with a free North Texas Kindness Festival at Annette Strauss Square at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 50 performances across three outdoor stages will bring together youth choirs, cultural dance and spoken word. There will be food trucks, a Kindness Market and plenty for children to enjoy. Come for the music. Stay long enough to meet somebody. No tickets are required, and people of every belief and background are welcome.
For a quieter experience, our own Faye Lane will lead Story Spirals at Thanks-Giving Square November 8 at 2 p.m. and November 10 at 6:30 p.m. You can share a true personal story or simply listen. Space is limited, so register ahead. I love the generosity in that invitation. Someone offers a piece of their life, and we offer our attention. We can let the advice wait.
Of course, most kindness will happen without a stage or a scheduled gathering. A manager can recognize someone whose work usually goes unnoticed. A family can volunteer together. A congregation can invite its neighbors in. You can call the person you keep meaning to call. You know the one.
At KINDTX.org, you can sign our Kindness Pledge: treat people with dignity, use words that build, notice opportunities to help and practice gratitude. The signature takes a moment. Keeping the promise gives us something to work on tomorrow.
Thanks-Giving Square has always offered Dallas a place to pause and remember what matters. As a shared sacred space and a civic movement, we also have a responsibility to help people carry those values back into the city.
That is the opportunity before us this November. We can put some intention behind the way we greet, listen, disagree and lead. We can give our children examples worth following. We can practice until kindness becomes a habit others can count on.
Visit thanksgiving.org/kindness for ways to participate and our festival guide. Bring your family, your colleagues or a neighbor you would like to know better.
Great cities are defined not only by what they build, but by how people live together. Somebody has to go first. I hope you will join me.
Kyle Ogden is President & CEO of Thanks-Giving Square Foundation