Being kind

Appreciative words are the most powerful force for good on the earth. George W. Crane

Most of us would not consider ourselves to be deliberately unkind. However, it is probably true that we miss many occasions each day to be more kind.  We ourselves can probably remember occasions when we were hurt by others not doing something – not listening, not noticing when we did something, not being there when we needed them. Being kind does not always mean having to give beyond our strength. The Buddha spoke of making  “offerings that cost nothing“, such as  a compassionate eye, a smiling face, and loving words. So let us do the simple things, such as being present, or acknowledging what was done or saying words that are within our capacity to say, knowing that our heartfelt words can make such a difference in peoples lives.

Kindness in words creates confidence,

Kindness in thinking creates profoundness

Kindness in giving creates love.

Lao Tzu

We are asked to love

Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business.

What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.

Thomas Merton

On not being half hearted

Today is the Feast of All Saints. The easiest way to understand a saint – in the different world religions – is to see them as people who gave allowed themselves be surprised and consumed by love. They gave with their whole hearts, often not counting the cost.

Gamble everything for love, if you are a true human being.
If not, leave this gathering.

Half-heartedness doesn’t reach into majesty.
You set out to find God,
but then you keep stopping for long periods at meanspitited roadhouses.

Don’t wait any longer…

Rumi

Everything comes around

Don’t grieve.

Anything you lose comes round in another form

Rumi

Holding the heart open

Had a beautiful stroll this morning on a trail in a forest. The leaves on the trees were  shades of red and orange and yellow and the sun was shining brightly. Suddenly not far away on the trail I saw a deer. They come down into  this part of the forest because it is a refuge, safe from hunters. It stood and watched me carefully, with big bright eyes. I was full of tenderness toward this timid creature, but it turned away, afraid to trust any human.

The human heart is like that. We want so much to connect, to relax with others, but we wait to see and test if they can actually hold our hearts and our fears. We seem to continually be on the alert for danger. Frequently we have moments like this encounter – with people or with events in our life – when we are faced with a choice. Do we keep the heart open or do we turn away? Can we stay open to all we encounter, knowing that everything we meet can be worked with. I know I find this hard and often say “no” to life as it presents itself in this moment and I contract and pull away.

How to find love

Your task is not to seek for love,

but merely to seek and find

all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.

Rumi