Why you should always strive to be kind
August 24 2011, 9:48 PM
There are a number of reasons why you may think it is not worth being kind. One of these is that it is wasted on people. The effort you spend is not
appreciated you think, and you conclude: I will not bother. Rather than think that, I would ask you think of kindness as a form of
exercise. Exercise can seem pointless: you spend a lot of effort engaged in
a strenuous activity that does nothing. But of course it does something: it
makes us stronger. Likewise, exercising kindness, even when we do not seem
to accomplish much, makes us stronger. Kindness develops qualities within
us that would atrophy otherwise. Empathy, compassion, and understanding are
all stretched when we are kind. So being kind is worthwhile just for the
benefits it brings to you. The other reason you might not want to be kind is because it seems unfair.
You can be kind to people and they ignore you or even take advantage of
you. It seems unjust. However, you should think of spreading kindness the
way a farmer sows seed and tills the land. The farm expects some parts of
his or her farm will not do well. It seems unfair, with all that effort
invested, that parts of the land will be barren. A good farmer will have
faith based on knowledge that if they sow their seed over a wide enough
area of land and work diligently, overall they can expect a good return on
the effort they make. So too with kindness. Some of it will be wasted. But much of it will not.
Like a good farmer, over time you will learn how to sow your kindness to
reap the greatest benefit. And like a good farmer, from time to time you
will invest your efforts in an area where you are not sure if your effort
will yield anything. You will not be discouraged, for if you lift up you
head and look around, you will see the bounty that has resulted in your
labour. Your kindness will be manifest in many different ways. And even if
your are kind to strangers and you cannot know how this will turn out, you
can imagine yourself like the farmer that knows that some of seed from his
gardern will go far from here and yield results elsewhere. Your kindness
will result in good things elsewhere, even if you do not know it or cannot
see it. Be wise about where you choose to be kind, but do not hoard it. Cultivate
your kindness as far as you can.
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Sent from my BlackBerry Handheld.
appreciated you think, and you conclude: I will not bother. Rather than think that, I would ask you think of kindness as a form of
exercise. Exercise can seem pointless: you spend a lot of effort engaged in
a strenuous activity that does nothing. But of course it does something: it
makes us stronger. Likewise, exercising kindness, even when we do not seem
to accomplish much, makes us stronger. Kindness develops qualities within
us that would atrophy otherwise. Empathy, compassion, and understanding are
all stretched when we are kind. So being kind is worthwhile just for the
benefits it brings to you. The other reason you might not want to be kind is because it seems unfair.
You can be kind to people and they ignore you or even take advantage of
you. It seems unjust. However, you should think of spreading kindness the
way a farmer sows seed and tills the land. The farm expects some parts of
his or her farm will not do well. It seems unfair, with all that effort
invested, that parts of the land will be barren. A good farmer will have
faith based on knowledge that if they sow their seed over a wide enough
area of land and work diligently, overall they can expect a good return on
the effort they make. So too with kindness. Some of it will be wasted. But much of it will not.
Like a good farmer, over time you will learn how to sow your kindness to
reap the greatest benefit. And like a good farmer, from time to time you
will invest your efforts in an area where you are not sure if your effort
will yield anything. You will not be discouraged, for if you lift up you
head and look around, you will see the bounty that has resulted in your
labour. Your kindness will be manifest in many different ways. And even if
your are kind to strangers and you cannot know how this will turn out, you
can imagine yourself like the farmer that knows that some of seed from his
gardern will go far from here and yield results elsewhere. Your kindness
will result in good things elsewhere, even if you do not know it or cannot
see it. Be wise about where you choose to be kind, but do not hoard it. Cultivate
your kindness as far as you can.
-----------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Handheld.
178 views and 3 responses
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Aug 26 2011, 9:38 AMAaron Kim (Facebook) responded:I really like this. And I'm not just being kind :)
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Aug 26 2011, 9:40 AMAaron Kim (Facebook) responded:But what I find really impressive is that you write all these things from your Blackberry. It would take me a day to write that in the little bugger. Thumb warrior I'm not.
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Aug 26 2011, 9:54 AMBernie Michalik responded:Thanks, Aaron, though it is kind of you nonetheless!
Yes, I must say I love my BB keypad and through diligence I have become adept at typing with it. If anything, I need a bigger display to take in my entire email to posterous. Lots of time inconsistencies creep in because it is hard to spot them. But actually, the constraints of the BB are a benefit: I don't worry so much about my thoughts because I can't. I pursue an idea as best as I can and then send it. It's liberating in a way I can't quite explain. Writing on the BB is like doing quick life sketches: you do a better job sometimes because you have to be quick and capture an impression and move on.