Day 16 - Do A Random Act of Kindness - 30 Days Mindfulness Challenge

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” ― Mark Twain

First let's talk about kindness and violence

I truly believe that the essence of the human beings is made out of kindness, compassion and the desire to help other people.

Of course I wondered how does this idea stand in front of all the suffering humans have always inflicted on each other through all types of crimes, from shooting other people during wars to the common, daily robberies.

I have my theory that a person who acts in a way that hurts another, is either ignorant of the pain she's causing or in great pain and suffering herself. Or a psychopath, who lacks the ability to feel empathy, due to mental disorder.

Most criminals have been abused both physically and emotionally in their early childhoods. I use "abuse" here to define anything from neglect to verbal or physical assault. The sad part is that the abused child often becomes an abuser later on, thus creating a vicious circle of violence and abuse.

The only way to break this cycle is through kindness, awareness, compassion, psychological support and whatever therapy is needed.
And it starts with each of us working on our own wounds and shadows, healing them, forgiving ourselves and those who have wronged us. And then we can become a living example of kindness and compassion for others who are still in the dark.

And when we are OK inside we naturally start looking around to help others. We all want to save the world, one way or another.

And while we can't all have the super powers of Super Man or Wonder Woman we can use what we have and do our best.

And you can start with today's exercise, which is:

Day 16 - Do A Random Act of Kindness

How To Do This: Today do (at least) one random act of kindness. It can be anything. From paying a genuine compliment to the girl who serves you coffee everyday or buying a chocolate cake for the person behind you in the supermarket, to paying the parking for a stranger or keeping the door open for just 2 more seconds so the person behind can enter the elevator or the building.

All you need to do is be present and look around for an opportunity to do a random act of kindness. If you are present and aware you will see these opportunities everywhere. The feeling you get after, priceless :)

And the ripples of your small act of kindness are infinite.
Let's say you say a few kind words of appreciation to the stressed office clerk at the post office. You have changed his mood and then he will brighten the day of another hundred people who he will meet that day. And then those 100 people will spread their own joy to those around them. You get the idea.

No act of kindness is too small because you don't know the impact that it will have.

Your small act of kindness can cause a chain reaction of joy and compassion just like the pieces of a domino or the waves made by a rock thrown in a still lake.

I did this exercise many times and I'm working on making it an integral part of my moving in the world. It's just such a better way to live in a place where there is an underlying current of care and attention to other people's needs.

It's like magic!

The kinder you are to others, the more people show kindness to you, until you notice that almost everyone around you is like that.

This is how you can change the world.

image source Photo Credit: Ed Yourdon via Compfight cc

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A note on The 30 Days Mindfulness Challenge. I initially published this challenge 2 years ago on my blog Being Raluca and I'm using those articles as a base for this one. I sometimes rewrite 80% of the article, other times I keep more of the original version and rewrite and add less new content.

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I'm a psychologist, intuitive coach, blogger and vlogger. You can find me mainly on my blog at Being Raluca where I write about communication, relationships, listening and sexuality. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @raluca.

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