The Kindness Box

[Geoff-Allen]

The idea of changing the world can be daunting. It's not only easy but understandable to think, "I’m only one person; what can I really do?" If every person thinks that, nothing will get done. But if every person did just one thing to make the world a better place today, billions of acts of kindness, social responsibility and generosity would take place — and wouldn’t that alone change the face of this planet?

Helen Keller said, "I am only one, but still I am one; I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and just because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do." That is the attitude in which authors Linda Catling and Jeffery Hollender wrote the book How to Make the World a Better Place: 116 Ways You Can Make a Difference. Here is a list of some of their ideas, and a few others, on how to make the world a better place one small action at a time.

7 Ways to Make the World a Better Place

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Put simply, the act of being kind releases a range of natural feel-good hormones in your body, including oxytocin and endorphins. So practicing kindness, compassion, and appreciation can make you happier, boost your immune system, reverse the signs of aging, relieve pain, and even help you live longer. Choosing to think and feel kindness about someone you find challenging, ahead of interacting or responding to them, is one of my favourite strategies for changing how I feel in the moment (e.g. releasing stress or anxiety), and is an excellent strategy for defusing potentially difficult situations.

Kindness is one of the core values I write about in my book Heartatude, the 9 Principles of Heart-Centered Success. This article is an extract from my book with additional tips on how to be kind in business.

Kindness: the Invisible Currency of Happiness, Health and Success

Plus a couple of free books to download ...

Enjoy!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

 

[Geoff-Allen]

If you don’t control your own emotions, they might end up controlling you. How can you prevent this?

Buddhism holds that opposite emotions cannot arise at the same instant. We might fluctuate between love and hate, for example, but it’s impossible to feel both for the same person at the same time.

Consequently, you can gradually eliminate hate and other negative emotions by familiarizing yourself more and more with altruistic love and kindness – because love and hate simply can’t exist at the same time.

Comes from this book summary -

Happiness Summary, Review PDF

Cheers!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

At that same site -

Similarly, in Buddhism it is believed that “life is full of suffering” and that our suffering is caused by our “attachments” – ideals we hold in our minds about how life ought to be. And one of the biggest attachments we have is the desire to feel happy all the time. This unhealthy desire to feel happy all the time ironically leads to suffering and unhappiness in the face of inevitable adversity and Murphy’s law. We feel unhappy because we feel we shouldn’t feel unhappy.

In my own pursuit of happiness, I found the more I chased happy feelings, the more i neglected dealing with the difficult or negative emotions in my life. But these difficult feelings were not going away and only started to accumulate …

Happiness - What's it mean to live a happy life?

Okay, it doesn't mention kindness as such ... but the voices-in-my-head told me to post it anyway

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Try - whatyouwilllearn.com kindness

Looks a huge site - for example -

Only a brief mention of kindness and generosity as one of their suggestions ...

The Happiness Equation Summary - What You Will Learn

 

[Geoff-Allen]

 

[FineLinen]

 

[Geoff-Allen]

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Kindness versus niceness

Being kind is different than being nice. Most of us are nice most of the time. Being nice is something we are taught to us from the time we are little kids: Be nice to your Sister. Share your toys. Help your mother with the dishes.

It’s nice to be nice. It feels good to do something thoughtful for someone else and it usually only takes a minute or two. Being nice is good, but it is different than being kind.

Why You Should Opt for Kindness vs Niceness

 

[Geoff-Allen]

The Love Foundation Inc. is a nonprofit organization with the mission of inspiring people to love unconditionally. Our vision is to assist people by building a practical foundation and understanding of unconditional love within individuals and society as a whole. Established in 2000, we have become an international leading resource for sharing the awareness of unconditional love.

As truth can be found in all aspects of life, The Love Foundation is designed to be an open organization built on the universal recognition of unconditional love. As such, we are not affiliated with any religious creed or perspective. Our focus is on the personal appreciation and pragmatic experience of unconditional love. Through education, research, and charity, we strive to share in this timeless understanding and expand our individual and collective consciousness.

The Love Foundation - Inspiring Unconditional Love.

Cheers

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Timeless and eternal, unconditional love is the one universal constant that is present and intimately infused in every aspect of our lives. Love is what makes the most profound difference when we are consciously aware of it. When we allow it to flow through us as compassion, kindness, empathy, appreciation and respect, we lift the very nature of our reality to a higher dimensional level. We inspire and expand pure potential each time we choose to be a presence of love. This is who we are and why we are here on this journey of life.

Comes from a recent site -

Special Messages by Harold W. Becker - The Love Foundation

Namaste

 

[Geoff-Allen]

 

[FineLinen]

“I Choose Love...

No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I Choose Joy...

I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I Choose Peace...

I will live forgiven. I will forgive so I may live.

I Choose Patience...

I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I'll invite him to do so, Rather complain that the wait is to long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clenching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I Choose Kindness...

I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for that is how God has treated me.

I Choose Goodness...

I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I accuse. I choose goodness.

I Choose Faithfulness...

Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My friends will not question my word. And my family will not question my love.

I Choose Gentleness...

Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it only be in praise. If I clench my fist, may it only be in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I Choose Self-Control...

I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And then when this day is done I will place my head on my pillow and rest.” - Max Lucado

 

[Geoff-Allen]

I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And then when this day is done I will place my head on my pillow and rest.” - Max Lucado

Thanks for sharing!

All the best!

 

[Miken]

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Gratitude may seem like a simple emotion, but Robert Emmons argues that it inspires kindness, connection, and transformative life changes. And he’s done the research to prove it.

Pay it Forward | Greater Good

Cheers!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Lessons from the lockdown -

In the near-term, as restrictions lift, I hope to have more physically distant backyard visits with friends and family. While we cannot hug, we can at least look each other in the eye. When the crisis has passed, I plan to prioritize spending more time gathering in groups of diverse people for concerts, sporting events, ceremonies, dancing, and more. The emotional high and sense of connection we get from being in the physical presence of others sharing an experience together is inspiring and sacred. Not only will I appreciate that presence so much more after shelter in place is over, doing so will deepen my sense of common humanity—something that when scaled up can build a kinder, more connected society.

Five Lessons to Remember When Lockdown Ends

All the best!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Stress kills, as research by Robert Sapolsky and others has found—and during stressful times, it’s tempting to look out only for yourself.

But a new study suggests a healthier way to cope with the perils of stress: helping others.

The study, led by Michael J. Poulin of the University of Buffalo, followed 846 people over five years. At the start of the study, the researchers interviewed all of these people about stressful events in their lives, such as non-life-threatening illnesses, job loss, financial difficulties, or the death of a family member.

Stressed Out? Try Helping Out | Greater Good

Cheers!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Welcome to week 3 of The Year of Happy‘s month on kindness. The Year of Happy is a free online course in the science of happiness. Not signed up yet? Enter your email here and you’ll get a weekly dose of readings and videos to further your happiness education.

Kindness is one of those happiness paradoxes, whereby we become happier by making other people happier.

The benefits of kindness

Looks a huge site from first impressions!