EAT THE COOKIE

So by now you understand the concept and its basic applications. You know what kindness produces in other people (good vibes) and what kind of things conform to [my idea of] how you ought to be kind. You can effect it yourself. However, you are more than a medium. What does any of this cookie nonsense have to do with you?

Answer: quite a bit.

Being nice perpetuates itself, both in the nicers and the nicees. The nicer feels like a good doobie; the nicee has increased self-esteem. Both have had a positive experience and both are more likely to go out and create positive experiences for other people. By being nice, you are contributing to a movement.
This is, in some ways, an impersonal way to think about it. If for no other reason, be kind because it makes YOU feel good.

That brings me to another important point-- perhaps the most important of all. Being a nice cookie isn't worth doodly-squat if you aren't kind to yourself. We, as individuals, are our own first concerns. We spend every moment of our lives with ourselves. Our lives are paramount as far as personal importance is concerned. It's all well and good to bake cookies for your office, smile at people on the street, listen to your friend bawl her eyes out, but none of that is worth anything if you can't feel all those good feelings to yourself. Nor is the kindness of others. Being happy is mostly dependent on the person in question; it's a closed system.

So. EAT THE COOKIE. Contribute to your own movement. Recognize your priorities and act on them. Don't forget about the rest of the world, but don't look through their eyes: look through yours. Indulge if you want to: have two. Make the kind with coconut that your parents don't like every now and then (but clean up after yourself). You are vital!

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Here ends the tri-part clarification of the Cookies for Kindness campaign. Further contributions will be, though helpful (I hope?!), supplementary. What have we learned?

1) BE THE COOKIE: the same way a cookie becomes perfect by baking, we become better versions of ourselves through kindness.

2) MAKE THE COOKIE: kindness is meant to be simple, easy, and unaffiliated.

3) EAT THE COOKIE: before experiencing the helpful effects of kindness, we must first be kind to ourselves.

I hope you have gotten something good out of this. If you want to know anything, discuss any part, or object to something or nothing, feel free. All I've left to say is what I've always said, and maybe always will: happy baking!

L. Greene