The Kindness Box

[FineLinen]

“My faith has been tempered in Hell. My faith has emerged from the flames of the crematoria, from the concrete of the gas chamber. I have seen that it is not man who is impotent in the struggle against evil, but the power of evil that is impotent in the struggle against man. The powerlessness of kindness, of senseless kindness, is the secret of its immortality. It can never be conquered. The more stupid, the more senseless, the more helpless it may seem, the vaster it is. Evil is impotent before it. The prophets, religious teachers, reformers, social and political leaders are impotent before it. This dumb, blind love is man's meaning.

Human history is not the battle of good struggling to overcome evil. It is a battle fought by a great evil struggling to crush a small kernel of human kindness. But if what is human in human beings has not been destroyed even now, then evil will never conquer.” - Vasily Grossman

 

[FineLinen]

“Be kind, be all sympathy,
For each and every human being
Is forced to fight against himself.” - Sri Chinmoy

“Perhaps the most 'spiritual' thing any of us can do is simply to look through our own eyes, see with eyes of wholeness, and act with integrity and kindness.” Jon Kabat-Zinn

“Beauty in its best form is kindness, the most valuable currency in the world.” - Rebecca McNutt

 

[Geoff-Allen]

More here -

Quotes About Wisdom:Don't be impressed by money, followers, degrees and titles. Be impressed by ... | Reminder quotes, Kindness quotes, Simple reminders quotes

All the best!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

From Pema Chodron -

When I was about six years old I received the essential bodhichitta teaching from an old woman sitting in the sun. I was walking by her house one day feeling lonely, unloved and mad, kicking anything I could find. Laughing, she said to me, “Little girl, don’t you go letting life harden your heart.”

Right there, I received this pith instruction: we can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder and more open to what scares us. We always have this choice.

Here is the rest - I recommend her books - she advises us to treat ourselves & others with unconditional kindness & compassion -

Bodhichitta is the Excellence of Awakened Heart -- Pema Chödrön – Lion's Roar

Enjoy your day!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Can you remember the last time a stranger was kind to you? Maybe someone held a door open or offered you help with directions in the street? Or, perhaps you can recall the last time you helped somebody. After recently carrying out a few altruistic acts myself, I wanted to find out more about the power and benefits of kindness.

Comes from this site -

The power of kindness (and how you can benefit from being nice)

 

[FineLinen]

“I like how Mother Teresa put it: “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile.” If you approach life this way, always looking for ways to build instead of to tear down, you’ll be amazed at how much happiness you can give to others and find for yourself” - Sean Covey,

“Give until it hurts.” - Corazon Cojuangco Aquino

“I have wept in the night
At my shortness of sight
That to others’ needs made me blind,
But I never have yet
Had a twinge of regret
For being a little too kind.” - C.R. Gibson

“You are not too small. No one is ever too small to offer help.”-- Emlyn Chand

 

[FineLinen]

“Sometimes I've survived anger only one minute at a time, by saying to myself again and again that the best kind of revenge is some kind of life beyond this, some kind of goodness. And I can lay no claim to goodness until I can prove that mean people have not made me mean.” - Barbara Kingsolver,

“Encourage, lift and strengthen one another. For the positive energy spread to one will be felt by us all. For we are connected, one and all.” - Deborah Day

“You know, some things don't matter that much...Like the color of a house. How big is that in the overall scheme of life? But lifting a person's heart - now, that matters.” - Sue Monk Kidd

 

[FineLinen]

“One of the most difficult things to give away is kindness, for it is usually returned.” - Mark Ortman

“Stop looking for flaws, and kindness comes much more easily.” -Deepak Chopra

“The words of kindness are more healing to a drooping heart than balm or honey.” - Sarah Fielding

 

[Geoff-Allen]

From the wake up world site -

What if, from early childhood onwards, every child was taught – in school, every day – to be kind? What if those daily lessons and reflections continued right through to high school graduation? What kind of effect would that have on the next generation, and would it revolutionize our levels of empathy towards one another?

Katrina Cavanagh, a therapist working with children and adults who have suffered trauma, believes that it would. What’s more, she has designed and implemented an incredible program, currently used in many schools across Australia, which aims to do just this. The “Kindness on Purpose” program aims to increase empathy in children, thereby decreasing bullying and aggression, and reducing the risk and impact of anxiety and depression in kids and teens.

Currently gaining a lot of celebrity support and having an impact on children across Australia, the Kindness on Purpose program begins in early childhood. Children receive daily lessons on how to be kind and how to choose and implement acts of kindness, and the commit to being kind each day. At the end of every school day, there are reflection sessions when children consider how they felt while being kind, and how everyone else felt. Children are also taught strategies and techniques which help them to regulate their own emotions – the ultimate goal being to create a school where everyone can express their feelings safely and appropriately.

More good news here -

The Good News | Wake Up World

Enjoy your day!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Found a little more about an initiative called "kindness on purpose" -

Katrina developed a program, Kindness on Purpose, for all young students, starting in early childhood and reaching through until high school graduation. Her vision was to inspire a more emotionally aware generation. In 2005, the first Kindness on Purpose session took place and had an instant beneficial impact.

Brains in Pain Can’t Learn

Katrina is animated and passionate when talking about her work, “Kindness on Purpose is really an empathy program. We are using kindness as an access point to empathy. We know as we increase empathy in students, the better their academic results get. It makes sense because brains in pain can’t learn. So the more empathy for self and others children have, the calmer the brain is, and the more ready they are for learning.”

Kindness on Purpose

All the best!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

How about a few quotes from this blog -

“It takes generosity to discover the whole through others. If you realize you are only a violin, you can open yourself up to the world by playing your role in the concert.” — Jacques-Yves Cousteau

“With gentleness, overcome anger. With generosity, overcome meanness. With truth. overcome delusion.” — The Buddha, Verse 223, The Dhammapada

“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

20 Quotations on Generosity: A Profound Act of Kindness

 

[FineLinen]

"If you grew up with our Neighborhood, you may remember how we sometimes talked about difficult things. There were days ... even beautiful days ... that weren't happy. In fact, there were some that were really sad.

Well, we've had a lot of days like that in our whole world. We've seen what some people do when they don't know anything else to do with their anger.

I'm convinced that when we help our children find healthy ways of dealing with their feelings--ways that don't hurt them or anyone else--we're helping to make our world a safer, better place.

I would like to tell you what I often told you when you were much younger: I like you just the way you are.

And what's more, I'm so grateful to you for helping the children in your life to know that you'll do everything you can to keep them safe and to help them express their feelings in ways that will bring healing in many different neighborhoods." -Mr. Rogers-

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Ways to make a difference in the world -

“We rarely need big things. As soon as someone starts talking about changing the world or radically reinventing something odds are good he’s talking from his ego, not his heart. Unless he’s working on bringing safety to the scared, health to the sick, or opportunity to the poor, the reinvention serves a want (or an ego), not a need.”

He went to explain how on his last day at Microsoft, he gave a lecture and one of his colleagues thanked him for the first time, saying he’d never expressed his admiration before because he assumed it was apparent. According to Scott:

“…it takes a better man to acknowledge goodness in others than it does to merely be good oneself. Anyone can criticize or accept praise, but initiating a positive exchange is a hallmark of a difference maker.”

For the full list of 25 ways -

25 Ways to Make a Difference in the World Every Day

 

[Geoff-Allen]

The healing power of kindness is amazing, but not many of us realize it. Indeed, just a small act of kindness can have a big positive impact on the world.

With our actions we are shaping our world, and hence the kind of life we are living. Different actions bring different results: an act of anger will bring hatred and violence, an act of kindness will bring love and compassion.

I believe that everyone feels that, when we are kind, no matter how small our acts of kindness are, we experience kindness coming back to us from the whole existence. When we are kind, we feel our soul opening, expanding and embracing the world. In this state of being, we feel transformed, as well as that we can help transform the world. By performing acts of kindness, we influence others to be kind too, and this produces an endless chain of effects, a circle of kindness.

Comes from this site -

The Healing Power of Kindness: How Small Acts of Kindness Can Make a Big Difference

All the best!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

The power of self-compassion -

“Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.” -Christopher Germer

Do you often find yourself putting your own needs on the back burner while you focus on being kind and giving to those around you?

While it’s a great thing to show kindness to others, many of us often don’t give ourselves the same amount of compassion or grace that we give to those around us.

We don’t usually take the time to truly take care of our minds, bodies, or souls. This can mean different things for each individual person.

Read more at this site -

Ways to Be Kinder to Yourself - Embracing Simple

All the best!

 

[FineLinen]

“I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself, this is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus. This one has leprosy or gangrene; I must wash him and tend to him. I serve because I love Jesus.” - Mother Teresa

 

[Geoff-Allen]

From the Reader's Digest site -

When the supermarket clerk tallied up my groceries, I was $12 over what I had on me. I began to remove items from the bags, when another shopper handed me a $20 bill. “Please don’t put yourself out,” I told him. “Let me tell you a story,” he said. “My mother is in the hospital with cancer. I visit her every day and bring her flowers. I went this morning, and she got mad at me for spending my money on more flowers. She demanded that I do something else with that money. So, here, please accept this. It is my mother’s flowers.” – Leslie Wagner, Peel, Arkansas. Here are 30 more acts of kindness you can do in two minutes or less.

24 Stories About the Touching Kindness of Strangers That'll Make You Tear Up

Enjoy your day!

 

[FineLinen]

“Thanksgiving is a joyous invitation to shower the world with love and gratitude.”-- Amy Leigh Mercree

 

[Geoff-Allen]

“Thanksgiving is a joyous invitation to shower the world with love and gratitude.”-- Amy Leigh Mercree

Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers!

We don't do an official Thanksgiving down here in Oz but we should - compared with some countries we are doing rather well!

All the best!

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Another huge site! -

Why This Practice May Be For You

Few of us would describe ourselves as unkind, cruel, or nasty, yet we would have to admit that we often miss the mark on this spiritual practice. Just remember the many times you have been hurt by someone not doing something — the call that didn't come when you were feeling low, the thank you note that never appeared, the missed appointment — and then consider how often you have neglected to act in similar circumstances. Kindness is very susceptible to the sin of omission.

Still, acknowledging that we have missed another's kindness can make us want to be kind more consistently ourselves. This is one of those situations when a negative experience has a positive outcome.

Of course, sometimes we are simply too self-absorbed to notice that we are not being kind. Selfishness quickly undermines manners. And generosity is difficult for both the miser and the glutton.

Kindness | Alphabet Practices Multipages | Practices | Spirituality & Practice

Enjoy your day!