Today’s #BeKind21 message is brought to you by our partners at Active Minds.

In some ways, kindness is like throwing a rock into the sea: you don’t know where it’ll land, what ripple effect it will have, or whether the tides will carry it back to you. Sometimes it can feel as small as a short phrase, and in others, it can feel as large as fighting for something bigger than you. 

In times shaped by divisiveness and inequality, we’re fighting for something bigger than ourselves. Our mental health and the mental health of others, especially BIPOC students who face disproportionate impacts of a health crisis spanning all parts of our lives, depends on the necessity of being kind to each other. 

Active Minds is committed to equity in mental health, because we understand that an equal world is a kinder one, and we each have a part to play in building it. For us, sometimes being kind entails fighting for students we haven’t met yet, and for you, it can look the same. The mental health of BIPOC students isn’t just an issue for BIPOC students, it’s an issue for each of us. 

Your kindness challenge today: Create a kinder mental health culture. Things like cultural competency, for example, increase opportunities for building meaningful relationships and trust with students of diverse racial or ethnic backgrounds. It also rescues risk for misunderstandings, microaggressions, and bias.

Starting this conversation that leads to a more equitable mental health landscape around you may feel daunting or even scary, but try entering the conversation without an expectation of where it will land. You never know if it’ll have a ripple effect, or start a conversation you need in return. 

In Kindness,

Active Minds

P.S. Invite someone to join the challenge: bornthisway.foundation/bekind21.