KINDNESS - IT'S FREE, AND IT GOES WITH EVERYTHING!
November 24, 2019
A reflection on how being kind changes the way I am listening, seeing, and feeling.
When I am leading an asana session I often use the cue; “...breathe into what's tight in your body. If you cannot get the breath into the area that is tight, try softening around what is tight. Notice perhaps that as you soften, you find support.”
For me, acting with kindness is the softening around what is tight. Kindness is the process of support that allows a sense of relief. Kindness is the spreading of support that creates the possibility of release, and the opening of a new and different way, and the freeing of the binding that restores the flow of energy.
When I listen with kindness, I hear the underlying sentiment, the effort and the courage, the willingness to risk, the beauty of overcoming in the process of being. I hear the subtle tones, the interplay of rhythm, the contra point of melody, the connection of the many into the unity of the one.
When I see with kindness, I see the varieties of color, the clarity of intention, the shadow of fear being placed aside in favor of the joy of creation, the shadings of light being refined in frame-by-frame exposition. I see the possibility of peace in expression, of love in connection, of freedom in existence in the moment.
When I feel with kindness, I sense connection and openness, the reality of possibility, the presence of oneness, the joy of being a part of and the power of being alive. I feel all of my available senses integrating, aligning, and attuning to lightly touch and be touched by the essence of soul.
Kindness is the key that unlocks the door to the qualities of the heart. Kindness is the broad path that is accessible to all and always traversable no matter the weather, toll-free and (sadly) lightly trafficked. Kindness is the gift that we have all been granted, requiring no training to excel at. Kindness always works.
In a world where I am often challenged to remember that I always have a choice, I am best served by choosing to be kind.
"...no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." Aesop (shared with gratitude & respect)
"Be kind. It's free, and it goes with everything!" attributed to Mickey Hart (shared with gratitude & respect)