In honor of Ellen’s birthday, just a few important examples of how she taught us about kindness

It’s pretty common knowledge that Ellen DeGeneres is one of the best people on this planet. Seriously. You will be hard pressed to find someone who disagrees. From her talk show, to her hosting gigs, to being the voice of Dory, she can do it all and she has done it all. But what sets her apart even further is her message of kindness and how she uses both her show and her celebrity to help spread that message. From daily acts of kindness to working hard to help people in need the Ellen episodes that make us happy-cry the most are the ones where that message of kindness takes center stage.

Today, this lady with the ridiculously big heart is celebrating a birthday, and in honor of that we want to take a few minutes to celebrate all of the kindness she’s shown us over the years. It would take a Tolstoy levels of word count to highlight all of her moments of kindness, so we’ll just spotlight a few of the examples that are seared into our memories. Our birthday present to Ellen is to really keep this kindness in mind. She’s preaching the most important message, and we should listen to it each and every day.

First up, this awesome Ellen quote

“Here are the values that I stand for: honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you want to be treated and helping those in need. To me, those are traditional values.”

BRB, sewing this onto a throw pillow to give everyone I know. Also this Ellen quote can go on the backside of the pillow, “People need to have all kinds of examples and heroes on television who stand for something.”

Part of having this great outlook on life comes from being truly happy

In an interview with Good Housekeeping, Ellen was so excited to simply be happy. “I assume tomorrow I’ll be happier than today, because things are great. I have a great career and I have wonderful fans who really are supportive and loyal — because I’m not hiding anything from them. So, on the spectrum of happiness, I’m pretty high up there.”

Ellen loves to reward the kindness of others

Ellen often rewards people for even the simplest of kind gestures. She heard the story of a waitress who payed for the meal of two military personnel during the government shut down. Not only did Ellen reimburse the waitress for what she paid for out of pocket, but she also gave her $10,000. And then a few weeks later, when Ellen heard all the money was going towards a car, Ellen bought the waitress a car.

Her segment, “Cash for Kindness”

The gist of the segment is that Ellen will reward others for displaying kindness. She sent one of her staffers to IKEA — with a fake pregnancy belly — to see who would help her out. Only one other customer stopped to assist, and in return, Ellen basically paid for that shopper’s upcoming wedding, and then some.

Her “Kick in the Kindness” idea

Being kind doesn’t even have to involve going out of your way to help others, and there might be no monetary value even attached to it (because come on, there usually isn’t). All Ellen wants us to do is perform little acts of kindness, like, complimenting someone’s outfit or holding a door open for someone clearly struggling with a million bags. She even challenged viewers to find something that they’re really good at, and do it every day for a week. Being kind to yourself works, too.

Ellen wants to help those who aren’t even looking for help!

One viewer, Tiffany, wrote into Ellen with quite a sad story. She and her husband had recently lost their jobs, but that’s not why Tiffany was writing. Tiffany was so overwhelmed by the kindness that others had shown her family, she wanted them to be recognized — Tiffany wasn’t even looking for anything out of it on her end. Ellen was so touched by Tiffany’s M.O., that she gave her groceries and some money to help out with the family’s expenses. The joyful video here. 

Ellen’s kindness doesn’t just stop at humans

Ellen is a big animal supporter, and an advocate for pet rescues and adoptions. She often even donates to animal shelters when they’re in need of food and supplies. And yes, she does take the time to honor other humans who have cared for animals in need.

Just last week, Ellen gave us another beautiful reminder to always be kind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy4tV15p8-o

There are always going to be others out there who don’t see eye to eye with you. There was recently a pastor who wrote an article citing that Ellen’s show is promoting a “gay agenda.” Instead of getting mad, Ellen handled the situation with grace, and the utmost kindness, reminding everyone simply, “I want you to live your lives being exactly who you are. . . The most important thing is that you be true to yourself.”

Ellen also ends all of her shows with a reminder to be kind to one another. So be kind to one another, there is nothing more important.

Image via here.