The value of kindness, consideration and empathy towards others is a valuable social tool, which isn’t properly understood.
<ul>
<li>An experiment shows that people can sense your attitude towards them if you are genuinely caring for them, even if you don’t show it by any visual cue or symbol.
</li>
<li>Your internal feelings of coldness or warmness towards others, somehow reciprocate in others, as if they are able to read your good (or bad) intentions.
</li>
</ul>

Kindness is a Mystery

In an almost paranormal way, one’s genuine and conscious appreciation of others, devoid of any impurity, has an immediate effect on the people around us.
It is an invisible broadcast one gives out, a vibe that one is vibrating with, an aura that glows like a light bulb for all to see.

Invisible Broadcast

Capitalism has made us only understand one kind of wealth, as it is only concerned with the ‘monetary’ economy.
Kindness and empathy towards others produce a different kind of wealth, which benefits everyone. Indifferences are quelled, and goodwill, warmth and support are produced.

The Wealth Of Kindness

<img src="https://www.raptitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ignacio-brosa-vJDbPuxUS_s-unsplash550.jpg" width="550" height="371" alt="Post image for How to Get Rich in the Kindness Economy">My friend said that wearing a mask added an unexpected challenge to her grocery shopping experience: nobody can see you smile.She had always depended on a polite smile to smooth over shopping-cart traffic jams and accidental incursions of personal space, and now this versatile social tool was unavailable.I discovered a similar problem on <a href="https://www.raptitude.com/2009/11/what-five-days-of-silence-taught-me/" dir="ltr">my first silent retreat</a>. I had a habit of saying “Oh, sorry!” whenever I thought I might be in someone’s way, but we’d all taken a vow of silence, so I couldn’t. I felt like a wrecking ball.In the end, my friend determined that it didn’t really matter, because people can somehow sense your attitude towards them, even without obvious visual cues like smiling. All that’s ever needed is genuine goodwill, even if it isn’t coming out of your face.I had noticed this phenomenon too, while doing my <a href="https://www.raptitude.com/2019/08/the-only-dependable-source-of-happiness/" dir="ltr">secret ally</a> practice. When you feel open and benevolent towards people, even when you don’t express it, people tend to be more open and benevolent towards you.Usually, when I walk somewhere, I’m mostly concerned with where I’m going, or what I’m thinking. The other humans I pass essentially feel like part of my surroundings, like other cars on the road. I’m respecting any nearby humans, but not exactly appreciating them. Not cold, just not warm.At some point, most days, I remember the possibility of being intentionally openhearted and appreciative towards nearby people. Without saying anything, or affecting a different expression, I just soften internally, and try to regard passers-by as a kind of pleasant company, rather than irrelevant strangers.Whenever I do this, a certain magic happens. The people I encounter seem to be friendlier and more upbeat than usual. More people say hi as they pass, more spontaneous exchanges happen, and more dogs want me to pet them.Both my friend and I have experimented with this. It seems clear to both of us that adopting a sense of conscious appreciation for other people has an immediate effect on the people around you. Quite often, as soon as you flip into this attitude, somebody immediately says hi, warmly comments on the weather, or asks you a question, as though you’re the most approachable person they see.It seems almost paranormal, but I think it’s just more of nature’s evolutionary fine-tuning. Being such social mammals, it would make sense for us to have an uncanny sensitivity for detecting, another person’s sentiments toward us, even when they’re not advertising them.This discernment wouldn’t require any conscious thought – that person is smiling, therefore they’re kind, therefore they won’t kill and eat me, therefore I can feel safe right now. It would just be an intuition, a “vibe” you get from the quality of someone’s presence. If the vibe suggests goodwill and openness, you naturally feel safe, and more inclined to be open and kind yourself.Human beings greatly value feeling safe and appreciated, maybe more than anything. If you’ve ever been the new kid at school, and someone invited you to sit with them, or explained how something works – in that moment, that person might have seemed like an angel. To be met with benevolence when you’re expecting indifference is one of the most gratifying feelings a person can have. &nbsp;So if this is true — if people can detect another’s inner warmth and open-heartedness, and tend to respond in kind, then it’s worth intentionally walking around with a warm and open-hearted attitude. It really just takes an intention. I try to do at least little of it whenever I go out. Not only is it worthwhile to do for your own sake, it’s good for the world. It’s win-win-win — it feels good to do, it helps others feel good, and helps them help others feel good. Benevolence, when you put it into the world, gets around.In that sense, this sort of practice is a kind of wealth creation, which benefits everyone. You produce goodwill, rather than indifference, and send it out into the world. This wealth reaches others, and supports them in producing more of it. &nbsp;As a society, we’re preoccupied with the monetary economy. We even call it the economy, as if humans don’t produce and exchange any other forms of value.We can create the wealth of goodwill every time we’re near other people. It’s valued by everyone, and it’s free to create and circulate. When others receive your goodwill, their position in the economy improves. With this new wealth, they can create and distribute more wealth, and so on, and society prospers. We can all be rich.***<figure><img src="https://www.raptitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/varietyshortage250.png" alt="" srcset="https://www.raptitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/varietyshortage250.png 251w, https://www.raptitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/varietyshortage250-229x192.png 229w" width="251" height="210"></figure>Want another new Raptitude post? I’ve unlocked the latest Patron-only post for everyone to read. It’s about another underappreciated resource. <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/37406517" dir="ltr">[Read it now]</a>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@ignaciobrosa" dir="ltr">Ignacio Brosa</a><h3>
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My friend said that wearing a mask added an unexpected challenge to her grocery shopping experience: nobody can see you smile. She had always depended on a polite smile to smooth over shopping-cart traffic jams and accidental incursions of personal […]

How to Get Rich in the Kindness Economy

Kindness is a Mystery

Invisible Broadcast

The Wealth Of Kindness

Luciana Owain's ideas are part of this journey:

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