Embracing Kindness

Kindness is the opposite of stress.

Dr. David Hamilton

Let’s say somebody’s been rude to you.

What are you going to do about it?

Does their bad behavior trigger an eye-for-an eye? An instinctive toss of the f-bomb back to ‘em like a hot potato?

Or, do you side-step a knee jerk reaction? Bypassing your impulse to fling that same load of bad mojo onto their front steps.

If we take a closer look at the dynamics of conflict, it’s evident that we do have a choice.

We can allow thoughtless words to dictate our own. Or, we can take a deep breath and respond in a manner that reflects our integrity. Our inherent Nature. Which is goodness itself.

Kindness naturally flows from our Essence.

True, we’ve have been taught to believe otherwise. And, we’re endlessly exposed through the media to “people behaving badly”. Our role models are letting us down.

But, did you know that acts of kindness stimulate serotonin and dopamine in the brain? Neurotransmitters, that elicit feelings of comfort and well-being?

Kindness in speech and behavior activate the brain’s pleasure center. Releasing endorphins which mitigate stress and challenge.

As it turns out we, ourselves, are the first beneficiaries of our warmth and decency.

Simply put, it feels good to be nice.

And that doesn’t mean stuffing our feelings.

Let’s say you’re on the receiving end of nasty. If you think about it, what’s to gain by volleying that nasty-ball right back into their court?

A sack full of nothing-helpful, that’s what.

Chances are good that you’re just layin’ down more bad tracks.

Because mud is mud. No matter which side of the riverbank we’re sitting on.

There’s an awesome power in the spoken word.

The language we use in our everyday lives determines the way our brain connects the neurons. And in turn, the way that we think — and what we think about.

Gregg Braden

Unless we can find a way to take the wind out of our bitch sails, we’re not going to ‘be the change we wish to see’. But only knockin’ out more business as usual.

My grandmother used to recite that line from Shakespeare about discretion being “the better part of valor”. Especially fitting for empaths, who can find ourselves getting sucked into an angry dude’s rage-cloud pretty darn quick.

One of these days, we all cross paths with a bad-actor – somebody who’s being held hostage by their own emotional blitzkrieg. But your gut will holler when it’s time to make a dash for the door. Afterall, you weren’t cruisin’ for a toe-to-claw with a fire-breathing dragon.

Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.  

Mark Twain

The moment we step into Kindness, we enter a state of Grace. Actions arising from this space engender not only the mercy of harmlessness, but also upliftment, harmony and Joy.

Kindness makes a fellow good — whether it’s being done to him or by him.

Frank A. Clark