You never hear anyone say a bad thing about a person who's passed
away….think about it: every funeral you've been to, you've most likely heard
lauds of love and acclaims of the deceased person as to have owned 'the biggest
heart of anyone I've/he's/she's ever known.' Tuesdays With
Morrie touched on the subject: a terminally ill man wanted his funeral while
he was still alive, so that people had the opportunity to tell him what he meant
to their lives.
This is not to suggest that we all presently should have memorial services to applaud ourselves. Rather, simply, to touch on the fact that kindness and compassion move mountains…..if only we told people everyday what they meant to us, we would never have to worry about losing them without their reassurance of our care. This is not necessarily to prove that we should all run around like happy hippies singing "Kum Bay Yah" constantly, loving each other ridiculously. Hold a door open for someone, and when they thank you (if they do), look them directly in the eyes, smile wide, and welcome them. Such acts, if more widespread, would do a world of good for all of us.
Also: forgive. So, after alot of crap has happened to me
with some friends in the past few weeks, I've gotten hurt as well as angry, and
neglected to really deal with any of it through my submissiveness and need to
please others.....I've finally reached a moment of clarity after looking up some
quotations on kindness and it's place in our world.
Basically, I just want all of you to read this and think of a time when
you really weren't deserving of kindness from another and they bestowed it upon
you graciously in infinite wisdom. In other words, whenever you're really angry
with someone or hurt by them, remember a friend or family member that you've
screwed over in the past that has not only forgiven you, but continued to love
or be kind to you, even if it felt undeserved.....pass that on. I'll be honest,
it's tremendously difficult, but think of how difficult it has been for others
to be kind to you in the past.
Next time someone really hurts or angers you, try to take a breather and
return to them with nothing but kindness and compassion.....and if you're really
looking to follow Ghandi's advice ('Be the change that you wish to see in the
world') go to someone who's been kind to you in the past (whether you'd hurt
them or they were just there for you when necessary) and thank them.....I
promise, it will change their perception just as much as yours.
Here are a few things I read that inspired me.....Ghandi had it right:
hence, i will be the change I wish to see in this world. It's damn cheesy, but
kindness is the only proven way we have to real peace and
clarity......
"What wisdom can you find that is greater than
kindness?" -Jean Jacques Rousseau
"Kindness is tenderness.
Kindness is love, but perhaps greater than love...Kindness is good will.
Kindness says, 'I want you to be happy.'" -Randolph
Ray
"Do every act of your life as if it were your
last."
-Marcus Aurelius
"The flower of kindness will
grow. Maybe not now, but it will some day. And in kind that
kindness will flow, for kindness grows in this way." -Robert
Alan
"You have not lived a perfect day...unless you have done
something for someone who will never be able to repay you." -Ruth
Smeltzer.
'I wanna live life and never be cruel.
I
wanna live life and be good to you
I wanna fly and never come down
And
live my life, and have friends around
We never change, do
we?
No, no.
We never learn, do we?'
-Coldplay....duh!
Just do it….kindness may be the only proof we have to internal happiness. It may be the only proof we have of real peace. It may be the only thing that we can give freely, as much as we want, no matter how sick or old or poor or unintelligent or unpowerful or meek we are. Kindness is the only thing that anyone can give without money, without power, without physical strength, without popularity, without an education, without health, sometimes even beyond earthly life…..you don't need to be any of these things to be kind. Can one assume, then, that kindness and compassion (and perhaps even love) are the only truly concrete things throughout eternity, spatially, scientifically, mathematically, logically, geographically, and in time? I assume so.
Kindness motivates forgiveness.
Kindness (from others) humbles and humiliates us.
Kindness is that which encourages us to see our own inequities….forces us to be kind out of both humiliation and empathy.
Kindness is the only thing that has brought down demons within us…..the
kindness from others is that which forces us to realize our own lack of
kindness, which often stems from something else.
Kindness (from others) is the only thing that forces us to be kind.
