A Kind Of Kindness

TribeSteemUp Bi-weekly Question

If You Could Teach/Show Everyone In The World One Thing, (Something That Has A Huge Impact On Humanity), What Would It Be?

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^{Photo by Andrea Tummons on Unsplash}

"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."
— The Dalai Lama

 
This quote was what popped into my head as soon as I read the TSU bi-weekly question. For me it was a no-brainer.

And it's not because I am a Buddhist or think Buddhism is somehow the answer to everything. In fact, this simple idea is the cornerstone of many (if not all) religions and philosophies.... it was certainly the message of Jesus (if I understand his teachings), and it was the most important of the five Virtues according to Confucius.

Sometimes, when I'm reading content on this platform and others, I read stuff and I wonder whether the person wrote it even paused to consider their words through a filter of kindness.

So many times I have wanted to share something or comment on something... and I pause and ask myself, "is this inspired by kindness?".... if it isn't, I don't post it.

Especially in posts that are touching on heated topics — you know the sort: vaccinations, gender, politics, climate change, yada yada yada ...

When I'm reading or listening to an opinion that I don't agree with, I have developed the habit of being present to it in a state of kindness... and usually I am then able to truly witness that opinion. I still may not agree with it, but it becomes separate to the person stating the opinion. I can then appreciate that this person has a point of view that is important to them, and I realise that just as I don't agree with them, they probably won't agree with me. And that's when I become OK with there being a disagreement. But what comes first is coming into the 'conversation' with kindness.

But please don't think I'm a saint. This doesn't come easy. And I don't always quite get there. I am only human after all, and some stuff still sticks in my craw... but I'm usually able to reflect on that and note down that I've still got a looooong way to go.

But I'm fairly confident I make a bloody good go of it!

I love the idea of random acts of kindness as a bit of a grass-roots movement. I see stuff like this video (above) pop up every now and then. I'm sure there would be cynics who would say something like "what is their motivation for putting it up on social media?"

To them, I would simply ask, "is that response motivated by kindness?"

Then, there is this video, which still gives me goose-bumps and brings tears to my eyes even years after it first went viral. 🤗

There's always going to be critics and haters, and there's always going to be grinches and grumble-bums. To them, I would simply ask them to consider: what possible harm could there be in simply being kind?

Yes, there's always going to be logical reasons and rationale why children need to be locked up in refugee detention centres; yes there is always going to be important national security concerns, and law and order concerns and economic rationality concerns, and so on....

But would it really hurt if kindness was also a factor in policy-making?

Would it really be a problem if we considered how any decision we made impacted on the capacity for another person to feel graced with kindness?

"Kindness is ever the begetter of kindness."
— Sophocles

 
I loving kindness...
🤗🙏🏽❤️

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