Being Kind
You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving." The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pastures. They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish. -KAHLIL GIBRAN
The great and fierce mystic William Blake said, there is no greater act than putting another before you. This speaks to a selfless giving that seems to be at the base of meaningful love. Yet having struggled for a lifetime with letting the needs of others define me, I've come to understand that without the healthiest form of self-love—without honoring the essence of life that this thing called "self" carries, the way a pod carries a seed—putting another before you can result in damaging self-sacrifice and endless codependence.
I have in many ways over many years suppressed my own needs and insights in an effort not to disappoint others, even
when no one asked me to. This is not unique to me. Somehow, in the course of learning to be good, we have all been asked to wrestle with a false dilemma: being kind to ourselves or being kind to others. In truth, though, being kind to ourselves is aprerequisite to being kind to others. Honoring ourselves is, in fact, the only lasting way to release a truly selfless kindness to others.
It is, I believe, as Mencius, the grandson of Confucius, says, that just as water unobstructed will flow downhill, we, given the chance to be what we are, will extend ourselves in kindness. So, the real and lasting practice for each of us is to remove what obstructs us so that we can be who we are, holding nothing back. If we can work toward this kind of authenticity, then the living kindness—the water of compassion—will naturally flow. We do not need discipline to be kind, just an open heart.
- Center yourself and meditate on the water of compassion that pools in your heart.
- As you breathe, simply let it flow, without intent, into the air about you.
--Mark Nepo