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Lindsay Munroe is our guest this week, she writes children’s music that supports kindness and positivity.

Thanks for listening to our episode about kindness. In this episode, we speak with musical artist Lindsay Munroe. Lindsay answers the kids crew questions to teach us about her personal history with music, what she loves about making music, who inspires her, and how her music can be a powerful tool for spreading kindness. Complete the activities below to learn more!

“Be kind today, everyone deserves kindness, respect, a friend, reach out to people, include people, be a friend, we all need that.”

Lindsay Munroe

Vocabulary

Vocabulary words can be found throughout the page in bold.

The Science of Kindness

Kindness effects our Brain Chemistry. As we experience things, our brains receive and release chemical hormones such as oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin, and others that affect our mood, thoughts, and emotions.

Studies have shown that when you perform an act of kindness, it will flood your body with hormones that give you a rush of good feelings. You feel calmer, more connected, and happier, and the person you’re being kind to feels the same way. You’ll both be more energized, feel fewer aches and pains, and get a boost in confidence. Some evidence even shows that kindness affects our DNA in a way that may even help us live longer!

Showing Kindness Is Brave

Showing kindness is a way to express empathy. Empathy is when someone understands another person’s experience and emotions. This is not always easy to do, sometimes showing kindness to a specific person is not welcomed by others who are not seeing the value of kindness. You can be brave and show kindness to others when they need it most, and stand up for what is right, even if you are standing alone!

It is especially important to be kind to people who are nuerodivergent. Nuerodivergence is when peoples brains think and work differently than what is considered “typical”. Our guest on the show, Lindsay Munroe explains that she is inspired to promote kindness based on the experience of her children who have autism. “I want others to be kind to them, we all should see what makes us unique and special, everyone deserves respect and friendship.”

Kindness Meditation

Meditation is the practice of focusing and clearing your mind in order to relax, reduce anxiety, create positivity, and more. There are many different ways to meditate but many of them utilize mindfulness, which is having awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment. Try practicing mindfulness with this kindness meditation challenge:

Get in a comfortable position in a quiet place. Send kind wishes to yourself by repeating these phrases:

I wish for (my name) to be happy.
I wish for (my name) to be healthy.
I wish for (my name) to feel safe and loved.

Now think of someone you care about, bring their image to your mind and send them kind wishes.

I wish for (person’s name) to be happy.
I wish for (person’s name) to be healthy.
I wish for (person’s name) to feel safe and loved.

Take a few slow deep breaths in and out and feel the love and kindness!

Anyone can show kindness through their thoughts and actions. Acts of kindness can be random, like complimenting a stranger, or they can be more intentional, planned out, and done on purpose. You can show kindness to people, to animals, to plants, to the environment, to objects, and to yourself! You can spread random and intentional acts of kindness with the challenge below.