But I am reminded by Mahatma Gandhi’s message of, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Gandhi gives us a direct reminder that it has to start with one person,
“ourself”, to make a difference. Mother
Theresa reminds us of this as well. She
stated, ““We know only too well that what we
are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not
there, the ocean would be missing something”. Gandi and Mother Theresa lived
with the idea that in any little corner of the world it is possible
to make a difference through one simple act of kindness after another. Kindness
could help us bring about the change we are looking for. From Wikipedia, the
definition of kindness is as follows:
Kindness is the act or the state of
being kind, being marked by good and charitable behavior, pleasant disposition,
and concern for others. It is known as a
virtue, and recognized as a value in many cultures and religions. Research has shown that acts of kindness do
not only benefit receivers of the kind act, but also the giver, as a result of
the release of neurotransmitters responsible for feelings of contentment and
relaxation when such acts are committed. (Wikipedia, 2001)
I like to fantasize what would happen if each of us decided,
for one day, to “be the change we want to see” or we really took responsibility
for the small drop of ocean that we make up.
We might live our day more conscientiously and decide not to let the
drivers on the road around us irritate us. And in fact, it would be the day
that we let others go in front of us who needed a moment’s pause from us on the
road, going through a door or standing in a line. Maybe it would be the day
that we extend true loving energy from our heart to others, all done behind the
scenes within ourselves. It might be the day we call someone up who could use
extra support. The potential for many
scenarios is at our fingertips. But this
all comes with a warning – there is a huge side effect to extending kindness
and compassion to others – happiness!
Dr. David Hamilton writess about kindness and how kindness
benefits the recipients and the givers. He states that kindness makes the giver
happy and it benefits the giver’s heart.
As people feel better (because they have been kinder to others), they
want to be kinder because they are feeling better. It appears that kindness can have a snowball
effect as the more you give, the better you feel, so you want to give more
kindness. (Hamilton, 2013)
Hamilton states that warmth and compassion towards others
creates oxytocin in the system. This is
an amino acid that is transmitted during childbirth and breastfeeding. It is associated with warm contact, being in
love or having a nice exchange with someone. Hamilton believes people are hard
wired to be kind to others and that integrating this into our lives actually
changes our brain structure, makes us feel happier, and creates stronger bonds
in our life because we are extending warmth, compassion and kindness to others. (Hamilton,
2013) People often resonate with the idea of doing
kind acts for others on a deep level because it expresses our spiritual
philosophy that we try to live by. Perhaps this is hard-wired into us.
Hamilton challenges us to experiment with this idea of
kindness and compassion and integrate it into our daily living. He suggests
that we start with having one day a week that we call our “kindness day”. This is the day that we go out of our way for
others and focus on being kind throughout the day. This can be as simple as showing and “feeling
from the heart” gratitude for someone doing something nice for us. But it will probably evolve to much more as
we start to live with kindness more and more. And a side note to this - these
acts of kindness that impact us emotionally, mentally and spiritually are also
physically good for the heart. People who
extend kindness have extended benefits of lower blood pressure, decreased stress
and an improved sense of well-being. (Hamilton, 2013) Acts of kindness impact us holistically. Perhaps
kindness is the first step in living “heart-centered wellness for life” by being
the change we want to see. And the next step is to make this a way of life
because as you put others, you impact your own self on a holistic level. I challenge you today to step into the
“bigness” of this challenge -- go out
today and live conscientiously to make sure that your imprint affects the
world.
Works Cited
Hamilton, D. D. (2013, January 7). http://www.social-consciousness.com/2011/10/spirit-science-meditation.html#!/2013/01/dr-hamilton-how-your-mind-can-heal-your-body.html.
Retrieved February 21, 2013, from Social Consciousness.
Wikipedia. (2001). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindness.
Retrieved February 28, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page.
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