The Role of Kindness in Understanding Human Connection

Jeannette Mare is the founder of Ben’s Bells, an organization dedicated to inspire individuals and communities to practice intentional kindness. She has a masters degree in linguistics from Gallaudet University and she has been teaching kindness for over 20 years. She began her journey from grieving to healing after the sudden death of her son, Ben, in 2002. Today, Jeannette speaks on how she channeled her grief from losing a loved one to further her understanding of compassion and human suffering. This tragedy became a catalyst for personal transformation, leading her to explore what kindness means to her and the power of human empathy. Ultimately, this led to the foundation of Ben’s Bells.

In today's episode, host Shay Beider welcomes Jeannette to the podcast to discuss the importance of humility, particularly in the scope of dealing with tragedy. Jeannette elaborates on the creation of Ben’s Bells, and describes how the trademark ceramic wood chimes came to be. She also touches on the importance of human connection, and how important she found this to be during her grieving process. By understanding the classic human needs of community and desire for connectedness, she has been able to tap into a newfound level of kindness. Jeannette shares her desire to push kindness into areas where it isn’t currently existing and the strength behind humility for one another.

Transcripts for this episode are available at: https://www.integrativetouch.org/conversations-on-healing 

Show Notes:

As always, this podcast was created by Integrative Touch for Kids (ITK). ITK is working to change the way people experience healthcare. ITK supports families whose children have any type of special health or medical need. This includes kids with cancers, genetic conditions, autism, cerebral palsy, traumatic stress, and other serious health issues. We have pioneered a new therapy called Integrative Touch™ and reach 3500 people each year in both the hospital and community settings. We engage communities in support of families struggling with special medical needs and offer unique Telehealth programs during this challenging time.Thanks to the incredible support of our volunteers and contributors, families are able to receive our healing services free of charge.