Non-random acts of Kindness

Just a few years ago a powerful and pure idea of randomly being kind to others appeared. The not so new idea was aided by the movie “Pay it forward”. The random acts of kindness had us paying other peoples road tolls, leaving notes of thank you to loved ones and others, opening doors, smiling and hugging people we did not know.
Could it be possible that our kindness could be less random and more ongoing? What would a day of constant kindness look like, feel like? Is it not too “pie in the sky” to suggest that our kind acts be married to unceasing kind words parented by our unending kind thoughts? Am I, as an individual, secure enough, aware enough, present enough to be kindness all day and all night, day in day out, even with the challenging and wicked? Could I ask for nothing in return for my kindness: no smile, no wave, nothing that would feed my sense of egoic “I ness”? Might I even forget I am doing, speaking and thinking kindly and just be kindness? Hmm, is this possible? Sure, but as the saying goes, “it’s simple but not easy”.

History has myths and legends of people who have embodied this ability. Firsthand accounts also exist of awakened souls that have not only demonstrated kindness and compassion, but it radiated from them so strongly that we read about them and feel the remnants of their nature to this day. There are people living in this time that radiate kindness and compassion without conscious effort. They go about their business with a sense of spaciousness, connectedness, and they have found the place inside themselves and inside others that is unified.

Men and women of all nations, cultures and religions have shown us the way. They have left a trail of blessed crumbs for us to pick up and live. They have shown that when we look deep enough, beyond the superficial decorations of incarnation, that we will recognise the oneness, not in a deluded or flippant way, but with absolute experience of unity.

These peace trail blazers even went beyond kindness. These great ones were a living testimony to the illumination of the mind and soul. They embody the ability to be exactly what the person/people around them require; often it will be kindness, sometimes loving-firmness, when necessary silent and supportive, but the one constant is presence. These souls aren’t consciously saying I will be firm with Joe and kind to Julie, they aren’t going around looking to heal or bless, yet that seems to occur. The blessing that they are transcends conscious action; it is in the natural flow.
So how did they, and how do we, rise to this level of liberty? How can we be constantly kind in thought, word and deed? How can we be spaciousness enough to let the people near us and dear to us, be at ease with themselves? I think the gates to kindness and connection swing open when we begin to see our connection to everyone and everything. When we consciously put down the desire to make things right, right from our standpoint anyway. Who’s to say that the suffering or joy that a friend or foe is undergoing is not exactly what is needed for their awakening.

One of the prerequisites for allowing another person to be who they are is to know who we are. Reaching a point of understanding about ourselves releases the self imposed pressure valve. Taking the time to get to know ourselves on a material, energetic, mental and spiritual level gives us the keys to the jail cell we placed ourselves in. Every nugget of nonsense regarding ourselves that we dismiss, gives us a deeper perspective into the dance of the human condition. Simplicity trumps complexity and a peace about the unfoldment of all people, and all things pervades.

Many of the eastern scriptures say that we are divine and already fully perfected, but for most minds this may be a leap to far. Gazing inwards day after day, exploring our thoughts and behaviours, we start to get the sneaking suspicion that our true selves are not the shenanigans which are going on around us and within the mind. External shifts start; new ways of acting and doing are fluid and what once was a struggle occurs with a level of ease.
As this inner exploration and outer transformation unfolds, we find that kindness is something that is in the flow, not so much something we have to do randomly. Understanding who we are leads to changes in the way we do, the way we be. The extraneous evaporates, the unhelpful wane, and correct perception and peaceful and powerful behaviours become uncommonly common.

The introspection is a catalyst which guides towards the experiences of the unchanging part of ourselves, the part of us that sees without eyes, hears without ears and feels without touch. Our first connection with another being is deeply intimate, as if we have known them for countless lifetimes, a brother or sister, a fellow traveller on the road to home.

This connection initiates stillness, gratitude for the new moment, a new thing, and our response arises from the place of unity, the place of peace that overflows with easefulness. The desire to change is absent, the desire to heal is absent, only the desire to love is present and out of that love comes exactly what is. The Grace that is in each present moment is enough and when we cease the battle against the past and the grasping for the future, we will be kindness, compassion, firmness and support, however, it won’t be random as it once was, it will be unceasing and effortless.
Love & Strength
Hanuman Das