Now is the time to wake up kindness as a
fierce and revolutionary force way beyond mere do-gooding!
Kindness is our planet's greatest need - towards ourselves, the natural world and each other. It is about the realization that we are all connected as one human family. So flip the idea of "the more I get the happier I am" on its arse and feel the true joy and juiciness of creative generosity & kindness. Here are some suggestions....
1. Order some FREE Kindness Cards and
begin a game worth playing - anonymous kindness between people. Here are some ideas:
- Make a dinner for a friend who is going through rough times.
- Pay for someone's coffee or dinner at a cafe.
- Drop home made cakes to everyone in your apartment complex.
- Give away some movie vouchers.
- Pay for someone's petrol at the petrol station.
- Hand make and write a thank you card (on recycled paper).
- Arrange for a friend to get a weekly yoga pass.
Don't forget to share your kindness card stories with us. We would love to spread the inspiration far and wide!
2. Practice Maitri. A sanskrit word that is often translated as "unconditional friendship, acceptance or kindness with oneself". Rather than disapproving or denegrating ourselves, we learn practices to really relax and be at home in your body. We can liberate ourselves from the punishing wait for outside approval (accomplishments, body type, good deeds or identity). This is the basis of happiness, wellbeing & social change.
3. Learn Tonglen. This is a Tibetan practice for overcoming fear of suffering and dissolving the tightness of our heart. Primarily it is a method of awakening the compassion that is inherent in all of us. One visualizes taking onto oneself the suffering of others, and giving one's own happiness and success to others. Apparently the Dalai Lama practices Tonglen every day and said of the technique "Whether this mediation really helps others or not, it gives me peace of mind. Then I can be more effective, and the benefit is immense."
4. How Much Good Can One Person Do? Years ago, a young man fell to the lowest point in his life. Racked by doubts and depression, he stood on a bridge and agonized about whether to jump to his death. What would make his life worth living? In a flash, a question was posed, "How much good can one person do?" He would devote his life to answering this one question. Sixty years later, Buckminster Fuller became one of the worlds most prolific inventors and designers and was named by Time Magazine as one of the century's greatest thinkers!
5. Support the Charter for Compassion. Go to www.charterforcompassion.com and find ways to support this superb initiative.
Check out an article the Yoga Journal wrote on the Kindness Cards.