Acts of kindness are everywhere.

A stranger holding the door. A driver letting you pull out of a parking lot so you don’t have to wait any longer. A friend picking up the tab when you’re tight on cash. Community members coming together to clean the streets because they believe in the beautification of their own neighborhood.

You can see the good everywhere, if only you are willing to fight away the inevitable negativity.

But when the bad things that happen are so daunting that they weigh down on your positive spirit, how do you bounce back? How do you force yourself to find the glimmer of hope that will hopefully illuminate your heart?

You make a conscious choice to choose happiness and disregard fear.

In doing so you give yourself permission to live your life with a kind and compassionate heart that may be saddened by dark times, but will never be defeated by them.

Prayers go out to all of those affected by the tragedy in Boston yesterday, and every individual suffering not just in our own country, but around the world.