Be Kind.

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” ~Mark Twain

Over the last week, the topic of kindness has popped up on several occasions.  I decided the universe was telling me it’s time to touch upon the topic in this installment of the free to be yoga tees® blog.

Kindness...where has it gone?  That is what I was thinking when I was driving around town running errands last week.  On more than one occasion while out and about, I noticed drivers honking their horns when someone sat a few seconds too long after the light turned green.  In fact, one angry driver was honking even though it was obvious that no cars were moving thanks to a construction zone back-up.  Got my wheels turning...heck, I used to be one of those super impatient, angry people...always in a rush to get to the next destination.  The reality is the journey is the destination.  This is life people...traffic jams and slow drivers.  It’s time to be kind.

A couple days later I logged onto Facebook, and one of my yoga teachers had posed the question, “Whatever happened to the art of Kindness?”  Wow, I thought..interesting timing.  It started a discussion online, which I found quite intriguing!  He went on to say:  “People think they're angry and agitated because of everyone else, but it's exactly the opposite. People are angry and agitated and afraid because they have lost the art of being kind to one and all. ONE AND ALL...not just the people you like or the ones who are getting you what you want. Here's to practicing and perfecting the art of kindness in everything we do.”  (Shout out to Nick H.-thanks for your wisdom!)

I kept thinking about kindness--and how it really seems to be lacking in today’s world--and while it’s impossible to force someone else to change, it’s pretty easy to start with yourself and start a ripple effect!

Then, this morning, I go into my e-mail and started to read a blog that I subscribe to and came across a similar message.  The entry touched upon powerful life lessons and was written by a guy who had studied under a Taoist monk (from Tiny Buddha blog, writer of entry:  Robert Piper).  Two major things stood out to me in this blog:  1.)  Patience is the gift of inner calm.  2.)  We must cultivate happiness from within, and work to spread it around to everyone we interact with.

After reading that, it was clear I was going to write about the topic that’s been in my head for the past week!  You see, it’s all related--patience, kindness, happiness.  Take a look around--this is your life.  There is no reason to walk around being miserable!  Start with yourself--look deep within and find that place of happiness.  Then take it and share it with everyone in the world that you come across.  Life is a gift...it’s best to be kind to yourself and others.   Imagine a world full of kindness!

Until next time...

Namaste