Another great article -
Is kindness “compassion in action?” While there are distinctions made between kindness, empathy, compassion and altruism, most people experience kindness as
action.
With kindness we take our cognitive experience of kindly thoughts and act on them. Regardless of our intentions, acts of kindness put those thoughts and feelings into the world.
You’ve likely heard stories of organized and “random acts of kindness,” – the Robin Hooders that replenish parking meters, the
pay-it forward movements that pop up in coffee shops and restaurants, the upscale hair stylist who spends his Sundays
giving free haircuts to the homeless, and the college graduate, Tommy Lukrich, who traveled across the U.S. handing out $100 bills to generous strangers who help him. More recently there are kindness travelers like Leon Logothetis, who has driven across continents with the simple goal of reaching as many strangers as possible with acts of unconditional kindness in his popular Netflix series,
The Kindness Diaries.
Amid the seemingly relentless bad news of the day, gracious and generous acts of kindness keep patching up the global social fabric in touching and often surprising ways. We’re often surprised because many of us have lowered our expectations of our fellow humankind. Too many of us have grown cynical and despairing. Perhaps some of us are a bit judgmental, even suspicious of these altruistic motivations.
Writing on kindness, author and Buddhist teacher,
Sharon Salzberg reflects the concern, “
On the face of it, kindness can seem wimpy, a cop-out, an excuse to do just a little bit to try to make a difference when so very much needs to be done.” Indeed, feeding parking meters and paying for the next guy’s coffee in the face of headlines that scream
35 million people now enslaved across the world, can feel a bit pathetic.
Read much more -
Seeking Human Kindness
Enjoy!
