BE KIND

"Be kind whenever possible.   It is always possible" - Dalai Lama

I have always been a sensitive person.   At times this has put me at a disadvantage, especially as child when the playground could be a war zone for anyone different.   I would lie to try and protect myself.   I used to see this sensitivity as a disadvantage, but now I realize it is one of my greatest gifts.   I am often able to articulate other people's feelings when they struggle to do that themselves.   Some of my best work comes from expressing an event, or a feeling that was someone else's experience.   I am able to do this by spending time with them and just listening.    I've learned that the parts you need to really concentrate and listen intently to are not the words but the silences.  The deepest part of us is revealed in our silence.

Of late I've heard a few stories that kicked me in the groin as though they'd happened to me.  I heard of an  instance where someone was judged by another in quite a public setting.   It said so much about the person yelling across a crowded restaurant.   The recipient felt shame and humiliation, which sadly was the intent of the ass doling out the venom.   I spent a long time in silence thinking about both parties.  

We are all fighting a hard battle. 

My high school reunion is this August and I was asked to find a few people.   In a class of approximately 100 I have heard several stories of tragedy - brain injuries, trips to rehab, living on the street and even 2 deaths.  I know that there will be people that won't  want to attend because they somehow feel that they didn't accomplish enough, or don't have enough, and that breaks my heart.   We are enough just by being alive.   Our survival rate of bad days is 100% to date.   We made it.   I was not in the 1% of high schoolers that had a fabulous time; and I have never felt the desire to attend a reunion.  There is a place in my own silence that perhaps needs to make peace with these people or this time in my life and so I shall attend.  

It is very hard sometimes to remember that we cannot see what is behind someone's angry outburst, or anti-social tendencies - and should not judge them.  Someone may have lost their job or they could have received a fatal diagnosis from their doctor - we will never know.   It costs nothing to be kind.   All the things that really matter can't be bought - kindness, love, health and happiness.    I borrowed the Dalai Lama's words because of their simple truth - "be kind whenever possible - it is always possible...."   That's the beauty of kindness, it doesn't cost anything - and by sharing it the benefit is for both the giver and the receiver...   

Love and Karma,
Melody