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Today's
Meditation:
One
of the conscious attitudes that I've adopted over the years
has been to err on the side of kindness, always. I
don't always do it because I often make mistakes, but I do
my best to make sure that if I'm going to make a mistake
with another human being, I want that mistake to be on the
side of kindness. This is especially true with my
students, who could use a teacher to show kindness instead
of strictness and severity every now and then. I can't
let the kindness be a way of avoiding difficult issues or
decisions, of course, but it is a way of life that allows me
to show kindness and compassion to people who may need to
see them.
I
also try to find simple ways to express kindness in everyday
life. Allowing someone to go ahead of me in line;
giving that extra dollar or two--or ten--when someone's
short; doing the rest of a job when someone else is
extremely tired; sincerely complimenting or encouraging
someone. These are all simple acts that don't take
much effort or great resources, but that add to the positive
energy of the world, and add a memory of a kindness done to
the recipient.
We'll
never know the results of many of our kind acts. The
person we loaned money to may do something wonderful for
someone else in an effort to pass it on, and we'll more than
likely never find out. The person that you compliment
today may do something kind five minutes later that he or
she wouldn't have done without that pleasant memory so fresh
in his or her mind.
Kindness
is a world-changer. It starts by changing our own
individual worlds, and it spreads by adding light and hope
and peace to the worlds of others. Eventually, one day
our entire planet may be full of people who are doing their
best to be kind all the time, but who's to say? I have
influence only in my own world, so I'm not going to avoid
being kind just because so many others neglect it. My
kindness is up to me, and it's one of my highest priorities
in life. And I'm very glad of that fact.
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