Once upon a time, in ancient India, a beggar favored a certain foot of land in a village square. He wanted to be rich, but he only knew dire poverty. One day he died on the spot where he had been begging for decades. The villagers decided to bury him on the spot where he had spent decades begging. They marveled when they found that only a few feet beneath the surface lay a treasure chest from an ancient kingdom. This story is a parable. The meaning is simple. We are looking outward constantly for the means to our salvation. Yet where we stand is hallowed ground, and when we look within we find all that we need to live a full life. Where we stand is basically who we are. It is our attitude to life. For every challenge that life offers us, inner resources are available to conquer those obstacles. In us all is enough determination to overcome any obstacle. In us all is enough initiative to master a craft or hone a skill that will allow us to pursue the life we want to live. Yet our greatest hidden treasure, I believe, is our capacity to express love through kindness. A philosophy of kindness creates better friendship, relationships, and peace in the world at large. In us all is enough love to conquer the world with our kindness and sow the seeds of a great humanity. For as we do unto others, so we receive. And as we do unto others, so too do our intentions ripple out like a pebble cast upon a lake. Kindness has consequences that are always good. If the recipient of our love does not acknowledge it, it may have appeared as if our action was nullified. Yet an act of kindness vibrates throughout time for the frequency of our intention lingers in the subtle dimensions. Kindness lingers not only in space and time, as a subtle energy, but deeper still, in our hearts, for we realize our own power to precipitate change for the better. This intentionality permeates our whole being, for once our heart is opened we heal our hurts and empower our future. Furthermore, when the energy of kindness overflows it becomes a continual blessing to all who meet and greet us in life. There is a Sanskrit phrase that captures what kindness does: the phrase is satyam jayante, which means truth is victory. Kindness is an expression of our truth. And when we express kindness, we have victory over our own wounded past of unkindness shown to us. And if we allow our kindness to expand, it gives us victory over our world. Kindness blesses all by renewing strength. After it renews our strength, it renews the strength of others. These others then spread the power you have invested in them. Acts of kindness spread Imagine what would happen if a surge of kindness were to permeate the entire world for a single day. Perhaps, giving a beggar a sandwich in New York might create a chain reaction that results in the handshake between an Israeli and a Palestinian leader in the Middle East. Perhaps, a dollar donated to a Tsunami fund might lower a pistol aimed by an angry man in Iraq. A simple act may have unimaginable consequences. Imagine the ramifications of a World Kindness day! |
