Human Kindness

There’s so much stuff going on in the world that I hardly dare to breathe in case my out-breath adds to the overwhelming chaos of it all, especially as my already chaotic mind is alive and kicking. I don’t know where to start with my writing projects because they too have been caught up in the whirlwind and are spinning off in all directions.  

In an attempt to bring myself back to some form of normality, I thought I’d write this much-belated blog, check in with you and ask if you’re doing ok yourself in this crazy time of political unrest.  

I’ve always thought that looking outside of yourself and thinking about others is a good way to calm yourself down so you can put yourself back together again. Well, enough so that you can actually function at least. 

Sometimes, it seems we are invisible in the great scheme of things and our lights can diminish under the weight of our woes, so I want to encourage you to notice an opportunity today, and every day thereafter, to shine your light on someone who looks like they need it – right at the very moment you’re passing by. A smile or a kind word can work wonders if you take the time to focus on someone else’s need.

Don’t let those who are so puffed up with themselves overshadow your beautiful light. It’s showing loving kindness in our thoughts, words, and actions that make the world a brighter place and offer hope in the midst of the cruel chaos.

Stephen Jay Gould said:

‘The Centre of human nature is rooted in ten thousand ordinary acts of kindness that define our days.’ *

Here’s something else worth pondering:

‘I had found a kind of serenity, a new maturity…
I didn’t feel better or stronger than anyone else
But it seemed no longer important
Whether everyone loved me or not –
More important now was for me to love them.
Feeling that way turns your whole life around;
 living becomes the act of giving.’

Beverly Sills, b.1929 *

If you’re stressing and striving right now to make your life count, this quote by Charlotte Gray, b.1937 may offer you a way forward.

 ‘Human beings who leave behind them no great achievements, but only a sequence of small kindnesses, have not had wasted lives.’ *

So, my friends, ‘in a world where you can be anything, be kind’.

With love for the journey,

Julie

(* quotes from Helen Oxley’s ‘Wisdom for our Times’, published in 1999)