KINDNESS
There is a balm in Gilead: a soothing flowing healing anointing balm in Gilead. Is there a balm in ‘Gilead’?
Some people soothe many with the balm. It is their stock in trade. It is in their DNA to reach out to others and be kind. The child said, ‘Miss, I want to be kind when I grow up.’
Before you know what kindness really is, you must lose things; feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. (Naomi Shihab Nye)
When we are devoted to the development of kindness, it becomes a movement of the heart so deep and so subtle, it is like a movement of the sea close to the ocean floor, all but hidden yet affecting absolutely everything that happens above. That’s the force of kindness. (Sharon Salzberg)
Kindness is leaving the safe harbour of yourself and venturing out into the unknown uncharted waters of the other. It is like yeast, even a morsel can leaven a huge batch. What if ‘kindness’ as we’ve known it for most of our lives –being good to others or just a smile- were only the faint echo of a far more powerful and transformative phenomenon? Just try it.