Yesterday, I looked up our itinerary for a trip we are taking later this spring. The flight times had changed giving us an unacceptably tight connection for international travel. I called the airline, and got Anna. Anna apologized profusely as if she controlled airline timetables. Her demeanor told me that probably more than one person had called and yelled at her for the exact situation that prompted my call. I told her there was no need to apologize, and that I trusted she could fix the situation. She was so grateful and thankful that I was kind, not only did she fix our itinerary, she improved it dramatically by cutting our layovers from two to one and putting us on what I consider better aircraft. It pays to be kind.
This isn't to say that anger and I are not friends, good friends in fact. My astrological sign is thoroughly Taurus and my Ayurvedic dosha is Pitta (fire). I can do anger, and sometimes anger is called for, so this is not a post to spiritually bypass your anger. My experience, though, especially as of late, has been to try kindness first and see what happens. For me, kindness pays.
Kindness, it turns out, is also good for your health. It reduces inflammation in the body, creates more robust emotional ties in relationships, and can improve your heart health. It pays to be kind.