Dear Friends,
It seems to me, kindness is a trait that is in short supply today, and it is needed more than ever. We meet dozens of people every day… but how often do we take the time to project kindness to them? Plus, how hard is it to offer a bit of kindness to others? What is the cost? The cost is a calorie burned in the brain and nothing more, the reward however is great, being kind releases hormones in the brain that makes us feel better. We become happier and our personal suffering is reduced in measure to how kind we are. The world is improved and the lot of mankind is made better by our small acts of kindness. Simply recognizing the humanity of another, a smile, holding the door, allowing another to merge on the interstate, saying a kind word or asking how someone’s day is going, are forms of kindness.
It is difficult sometimes to be kind. Our world is full of suffering and none of us is immune. When we allow our personal suffering to interfere with our being kind, we are passing along suffering. When we reject our own suffering and pass along kindness rather than pain we actually reduce the amount of suffering in the world, and in doing so, we reduce our own suffering. Everyone has bad days. It is the nature of life. If every day was great, how would we know it was great? Knowledge and wisdom come from comparison. If we only feel pain, it is normal and we don’t realize there is another way, just as if we only feel love, how do we know it? By feeling unloved we understand love, by sickness we recognize health, but when we transcend our lot, we come closer to enlightenment.
Our world is drowning in anger, bitterness and suffering, recognizing that objective reality and being kind is not being soft, it is in fact the sign of a strong person. All anyone need do is watch television news. It is filled with the worse humanity has to offer, so it becomes easy to fall into the mindset, that there is nothing but evil in our world. Yet that is not the case. There is great love, charity, humanity and human heartedness. It just doesn’t motivate people to watch. Conflict grabs our attention… not kindness. Yet what we focus on is what we get more of. The new quantum physics experiments by Rupert Sheldrake, Tom Campbell and the Noetic Institute, show empirically, that our minds effect reality. So if our minds effect reality, shouldn’t we attempt to effect it in a way that makes it better?
The more the world turns away from kindness the worse the suffering of humanity. We can effect reality to make it better or worse. By rejecting kindness we create hell on Earth. Every act of bitterness, anger and intolerance leads inevitably to a more bitter, angry and intolerant world. Post modernism is all about anger, bitterness and intolerance. It claims there is no objective reality, that what is called objective reality, is only a means to power. The only thing post modernists believe in is power. To that end they project hate, intolerance and suffering. Which manifests more of those evils in our world that is plenty full of them as it is. Kindness is the answer to hate. It is like splashing cold water on a fire. Throw enough water on one and even the largest fire can be put out.
Anger and bitterness only lead to more suffering, while kindness leads to less suffering. So, if we seek more suffering in this world, then the logical path is by rejecting kindness. If we seek less suffering, kindness is the path to that end. Small acts of kindness in our daily life is enough to effect the material universe in a positive way. Every act of kindness negates an act of evil. Yes, evil people must be put to task, but the means to counter the effect of evil people is not to bring more evil into existence, but to manifest kindness and goodness. Our world is drowning in suffering, and indeed suffering is the nature of life itself, yet we can lessen the suffering in small ways by our acts of kindness. So go out today and bring goodness into the word, be a light, and let that light illuminate, because evil withers in light.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
