Acts of Kindness, Reality & Perception

this is not dramatic nor deep but it is the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long time. i was talking with a friend today, actually the mother of one of my very good friends but we have become friends over the course of the fact that my friend and i share RSD. we were talking abot my moving and she was asking about the emotional and phusical impact it would have on me immediately. anyway, before we hung up, she asked me to call her when i arrived in OK so that she would know i arrived there safely. i thanked her and as i did so realized that of all the people who knew i was leaving and even when i was leaving, she was the only person who asked me to do that. for some reason, her concern has touched me deeply. she cares enough to worry about my safe passage.
this has made reflect upon kindness in general. of course, Roshis are supposed to practice kindness in everything, but that one remark really brought that home. we never know what small act, what one kind word even, might have a huge impact upon another person. what might not seem like very much to me might be like the pebble dropped into water that sends ripples into another person's life. it might even be like a volcanic action that sends a tsunami feeling of being cared about. so from now on i'm going to make more small acts, more small remarks of caring and concern, because i never will know what one seemingly insignificant small act or word of kindness will do.
just a note on developing the general attitude of karuna, the Buddhist word for loving-kindness.Sharon Salzberg has a wonderful small book called A Cup of Kindness. In it are contained instances of just such small things that can make such a huge impact on another person. it also contains meditations one can do to help develop karuna. she also has a Cd that accompanies the book that contains meditations, just small ones, to help one develop a general everyday attitude of loving-kindness. you do not have to Buddhist to appreciate, understand, and use the exercises in the book or the meditations on the Cd. i highly recommend either, both if you can get them.
remember that one small act, that one kind word....

[Glenn]

I have been reading OSHO, who claims the ego is our false center we cling to, that creates confusion in what we think of others since what we think of ourselves has been dictated to us since birth.

Ego-The False Center
From Beyond The Frontier Of The Mind
http://deoxy.org/egofalse.htm

[Sachita]

Certainly there are many theories, concepts and definitions about our human nature. OMG I spent a great deal of my 20's reading, praying, meditating and trying to grasp some kind of meaning. All of it made sense to me and it was hard to pick one so I didn't. But it all boiled down to metaphysics for me. Vibration, perception, projection (faith) and the all powerful concept of love. Sometimes I wonder if God really isnt love or the other way around - Love is God. That which we all crave, desire and seem to spend a lifetime trying to capture and express. That which threads and weaves into every area of life.

more later

[Sweet Bliss]

Thank you so much for posting links and stories for us

Will be back later to maybe share a bit.

[meridiantoo]

I really like this thread. I want to think on it also before I post anything.

This is a great topic!

[Ascot]

I am fortunate to have been raised in an environment of respect and kindness and it is the place from which I try to live my life. I'm one who will open the door at the post office for the man struggling with several boxes and likely offer to carry a couple. I'll let someone who's been patiently waiting cut into traffic ahead of me. So what if I'm one car length farther back? (If it's a twerp who has been aggressively nudging, maybe not so much.) These little acts cost me absolutely nothing, yet I reap so much in return. That's not the reason I do it, but it is rather a lovely perk. As I've matured, I've become more aware of the merit of being sensitive to whether someone actually wants kindness from me. I've learned, strange though it might seem, that not everyone is open to such gestures. Perhaps they don't want to be perceived as needing help or maybe they're simply too wary of strangers. Who knows. The why really doesn't matter. For me, recognizing that reluctance is another form of kindness.