“Kind words can be short and easy to speak
but their echoes are truly endless.”
(Mother Teresa)
Last month, we discussed Gratitude, which I believe is
very powerful and life changing. This
month I’d like to talk about Kindness,
which is just as powerful, just as life changing. I’m specifically speaking of lovingkindness –
one of my favorite words from The Bible – acts of service motivated by love.
As Mother Teresa stated above, sometimes it’s just a choice
of words that can change our life or someone else’s. Think of the words we often speak to
ourselves – words of doubt, self-blame, self-loathing, hatred and pity. We are actually bullying ourselves, which
creates a sense of powerlessness.
Sometimes in moments of anger or frustration, we speak derogatory words
to our children, family or friends, which can create long-lasting wounds that
may take a lifetime to heal. When these
words come, take a first step, recognize the words we've chosen and acknowledge
that those are harmful words. The next
step is to slowly determine where those thoughts and words came from and what
painful feelings lie beneath them. Do
not berate yourself for what just happened, that will only bring more negative
feelings. Love yourself by being kind to
yourself - this begins the process of healing.
Our world appears to be in a state of chaos – all we have
to do is turn on the news to hear a string of situations that can easily bring
about fear. The other night, I turned on
the news and the stories went from local to national to worldwide – each one
bringing more fear. It made me think of
watching Fahey Flynn, a Chicago newscaster, when I was a child in the 1950s –
he reported the news but the news was nothing like what we hear today. The fact that fearful situations are coming
at us from all sorts of media can truly throw us off kilter and create anxiety
and fear. This also creates a feeling of
powerlessness.
Deepak Chopra believes “All great changes are preceded by
chaos.” I know from what I've read,
amidst all the chaos, our world is going toward Enlightenment. I can’t help but believe this is the reason
there is so much chaos – on one hand, our world seems out of control but in the
larger picture, there is so much more recognition of feelings, there is so much
greater understanding about our emotions, there is so much more openness about
spiritual experiences, that it’s like the movement is afoot and we are on our
way toward the good. Those who want
control over others feel threatened and respond with more terrorism out of
their own fear and create more chaos. Trust
that God leads us only toward the good.
Kindness – small loving acts of service have a ripple effect – look at what Mother Teresa created one
day at a time, one act of kindness at a time.
When the weight of the world comes upon you fast and you feel anxiety or
fear, find a quiet place, breathe deeply and connect to the source of all love,
kindness, care and protection within.
Make that connection instead of the worldly connection of chaos.
The week of February 9, 2015, is Random Acts
of Kindness Week.
Get out there and create some chaos – in a Lovingkindness
sort of way!
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