“Here’s something I know to be true, although it’s a little corny, and i don’t quite know what to do with it:

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.

Those moments when another human being was there, in front of me, suffering, and I responded… sensibly. Reservedly.Mildly.

Or, to look at it from the other end of the telescope: Who, in your life, do you remember the most fondly, with the most undeniable feelings of warmth?

Those who were kindest to you, I bet.

It’s a little facile, maybe, and certainly hard to implement, but I’d say, as a goal in life, you could do worse than:

Try to be kinder.

— George Saunders