|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Once upon a time, in ancient India, a beggar favored a certain foot of land in a village square. He wanted to be rich, but he only knew dire poverty. One day he died on the spot where he had been begging for decades. The villagers decided to bury him on the spot where he had spent decades begging. They marveled when they found that only a few feet beneath the surface lay a treasure chest from an ancient kingdom.
This story is a parable.
The meaning is simple. We are looking outward constantly for the means to our salvation. Yet where we stand is hallowed ground, and when we look within we find all that we need to live a full life.
Where we stand is basically who we are. It is our attitude to life.
For every challenge that life offers us, inner resources are available to conquer those obstacles.
In us all is enough determination to overcome any obstacle.
In us all is enough initiative to master a craft or hone a skill that will allow us to pursue the life we want to live.
Yet our greatest hidden treasure, I believe, is our capacity to express love through kindness. A philosophy of kindness creates better friendship, relationships, and peace in the world at large.
In us all is enough love to conquer the world with our kindness and sow the seeds of a great humanity. For as we do unto others, so we receive. And as we do unto others, so too do our intentions ripple out like a pebble cast upon a lake.
Kindness has consequences that are always good. If the recipient of our love does not acknowledge it, it may have appeared as if our action was nullified. Yet an act of kindness vibrates throughout time for the frequency of our intention lingers in the subtle dimensions.
Kindness lingers not only in space and time, as a subtle energy, but deeper still, in our hearts, for we realize our own power to precipitate change for the better.
This intentionality permeates our whole being, for once our heart is opened we heal our hurts and empower our future. Furthermore, when the energy of kindness overflows it becomes a continual blessing to all who meet and greet us in life.
There is a Sanskrit phrase that captures what kindness does: the phrase is "satyam jayante," which means "truth is victory."
Kindness is an expression of our truth. And when we express kindness, we have victory over our own wounded past of unkindness shown to us. And if we allow our kindness to expand, it gives us victory over our world.
Kindness blesses all by renewing strength. After it renews our strength, it renews the strength of others. These others then spread the power you have invested in them. Acts of kindness spread
Imagine what would happen if a surge of kindness were to permeate the entire world for a single day. Perhaps, giving a beggar a sandwich in New York might create a chain reaction that results in the handshake between an Israeli and a Palestinian leader in the Middle East. Perhaps, a dollar donated to a Tsunami fund might lower a pistol aimed by an angry man in Iraq. A simple act may have unimaginable consequences. Imagine the ramifications of a World Kindness day!
Resource Box
Saleem Rana got his masters in psychotherapy from California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, Ca., 15 years ago and now resides in Denver, Colorado. His articles on the internet have inspired over ten thousand people from around the world. Discover how to create a remarkable life
Copyright 2005 Saleem Rana. Please feel free to pass this article on to your friends, or use it in your ezine or newsletter. It's a shareware article.
In Corrogue I count my Blessings.These are numerous. There is... Read More
Wonder:~~To think or speculate curiously~~To be filled with admiration, amazement... Read More
On June 3rd, 1948, a blast rocked the Black Hills... Read More
What is it that stops you from jumping off a... Read More
Today more than ever before, we are witnessing a crises... Read More
Only twenty years ago, people would casually stroll the neibourhood,... Read More
Why am I here?If you haven't already asked this question,... Read More
"Is it so small a thing To have enjoy'd the... Read More
Yesterday, I listened to an interview with Michael York, the... Read More
A major part of the process of achieving success and... Read More
Here's a quote from the late great columnist Sydney Harris... Read More
An 18 month-old girl lay dying of diphtheria in January... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of May 5,... Read More
Back to our youth days, we were taught that by... Read More
"A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile... Read More
After more than thirty years of studying the Bible I... Read More
As I drove home from work late one wintry afternoon,... Read More
I looked at my father for the last time before... Read More
Resistance is not a new word, but for many of... Read More
Quotable quotes are nothing more than flowery words... And anyone... Read More
A number of years ago I worked for one of... Read More
All this week I have been singing.This week I have... Read More
It was a mild summer day in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina... Read More
Ah, the good old "Vulcan nerve pinch", the three-fingered salute,... Read More
How often do you decline an invitation because you have... Read More
Wow, it's a new year and a new millennium! What... Read More
How often do you have opportunities every day to exercise... Read More
Memorial Day weekend, 2004, found my wife and I along... Read More
"It's better to give than to receive." You've probably heard... Read More
You are probably in front of your computer screen at... Read More
The ocean liner Achille Lauro sailed perpetually under a dark... Read More
How strong are you? I'm not asking if you... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of December 23,... Read More
Back in the good old days of school, the teachers... Read More
It has been six months since I left the corporate... Read More
If you walk up to a stranger in the grocery... Read More
"It`s life Jim but not as we know it." -SpockIn... Read More
This statement has stopped many a war in my house.... Read More
The human will is the most incredible thing. I believe... Read More
Have you thought about what you want people to say... Read More
There once was a happy monkey wandering the jungle, eating... Read More
Why would we need to examine our lives? What benefit... Read More
You always do this wrong, how many times would I... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of December 9,... Read More
Continued...After that I stayed with him still and when he... Read More
The greatest achievements were obtained by those who took one... Read More
Direct Answers - Column for the week of November 24,... Read More
It has been said that a man is what he... Read More
1. Sit back and enjoy (or at least tolerate) the... Read More
After more than thirty years of studying the Bible I... Read More
Inspirational Inspirational |