I've had this idea for awhile, and it's not exactly a project of the physical variety. It isn't something one can just create with their hands and be done. It is a life long decision. It is a way of life, a way of looking at the world.
The idea, this magical idea, is -
Being kind because it is right.
In most religions, it is taught to fear being anything but kind. If you are not kind, the devil gets your soul for all of eternity. You will live a life of eternal discomfort in the after-world, or maybe you'll come back as some unpleasant, unfortunate creature.
In most religions, you are threatened into being kind or making kind decisions.
In my mind, this seems strange. After all, are you really a kind person if you are only doing kind acts out of fear or greed?
The whole idea of being kind just to get "good karma" in a way seems to render it pointless as you are doing your kind acts with selfish intentions. By being kind for the simple reason that it is right removes the need to threaten your children, your friends, your family or your neighbours with silly things such as the devil.
See also:
Gods wrath.
Eternal Damnation.
Being sent back to earth as a loathed bug.
It is scaremongering and doesn't encourage good feelings.
Now being kind isn't always easy, I certainly still have difficulty with it.
Sometimes it is as if some people aren't even people, thus don't deserve kindness.
See also:
Your cruel boss.
Your nasty co-worker.
Your soulless in-law.
The unpleasant stranger that acted unkindly towards you.
The person in your life you know who continues to do mean things to you.
But reminding yourself (Verbally - out loud or in your mind) that they are human as well, does help.
Remind yourself that the unpleasant things they do are just reactions to things happening in their life.
The whole "Every action has a reaction" kind of comes in here. The good old butterfly effect, working at it's best. Every person in the worlds actions are reactions.
To you, it might seem like they are out to get you, when in reality they are just venting their anger and frustration. When you understand this, it is a lot easier to deal with them.
Instead of taking on their anger and becoming angry yourself (bound to then share your fresh new anger with someone, spreading it like an H1N1 virus), acknowledge their anger and put it aside. DO NOT TAKE IT ON. This is not your battle, it is not your problem. Step back, be kind with your words and once the person has moved on, move on too.
You can stop the cycle, this virus, this chain of anger. Just remember, everyone is human, reacting to actions that were reactions to actions.
I'm still learning and practising as well. This is a life long journey. I might not be able to reach the top of my destination over night, but I can at least take small steps towards it.
Be kind with your words, be kind with your hands and be kind with your minds.
Wednesday 31 August 2011
Thursday 25 August 2011
Sunday 14 August 2011
Amongst The Cold Snap: Blossoming Signs of Spring
Not only are the beautifully amazing and daring bulbs, bushes and trees in my front yard flowering, but I also got a delivery in the mail. A delivery that arrived in a Greenpac envelop made from recycled paper, which was 100% recyclable. Inside this green envelope was threads made from organic, fair-trade cotton. Beautiful, soft, organic cotton T-shirts and an organic cotton hoodie. My little shopping spree at the Kowtow website while they had their winter end-of-season sale, has finally arrived. And I only had to wait a few days. Something that satisfied the impatient side of me.
(Just to point out the sign was separate, a friend of mine at Epic Engraving (Auckland) made it for me since I'm sick of religious doomsday-preachers knocking on my door and upsetting my dogs)
I can't really express my gratitude and adoration for the Kowtow brand. The work that they do is amazing. Their designs are beautiful and the fabric is so lovely to the touch.
I am greatly looking forward to seeing their new season designs and I will undoubtedly blog about it when I do.
The T-shirts are gorgeous, and I particularly like the "Eat& Work& Sleep& Consume" Tee.
The hoodie is unfortunately a tad bit tight under the arms and I now wish I'd ordered a 14 but oh well, you learn these things. It is unfortunately the downside of buying online.
Organic/fair-trade clothing and recycled/second hand clothing is how I want to shop this summer, and probably for the rest of my life.
I love spring and it's little deliveries and changes. I'm looking forward to change, to sunshine and to cheerful fashion like summer dresses in soft pastel tones and floral scarves.
As the days get longer, even if they are colder right now during our current cold snap here in New Zealand, I can feel it giving new inspiration and energy to my mind. I have so many new projects that I want to dive right into. I want to renovate the house me and my partner live in. I want to go visit Global Fabrics and check out their organic cotton fabric range. I want to find some beautiful summer dress designs so that I can make some of my own organic clothing for summer. I want to learn to make crochet lace so that I can incorporate some into these dresses somehow, since I adore crochet lace. I even want to give Cloth toilet paper a go... Because I am becoming that much of a hippy.
I am starting a course at the local Unitec, to learn how to study so that I can move onto a foundation course in Psychology next year and move on from my retail job.
(Sigh) Spring is on its way and I feel like my soul is waking up again after hibernating for the grey, dark months of winter. I can't wait for summer and sunshine.
Sunday 7 August 2011
You affect your world
Sometimes our hands can seem small and useless. Our opinions and beliefs seem frivolous. Our attempts at bettering ourselves, pointless when so many continue living in careless ways.
It is so easy to believe that we are small and insignificant, that we cannot control the masses - And it's true, to a degree, we can't control others.
What we can control however, is ourselves. We can choose whether we create great things with out hands, voices, minds and harbour kind beliefs, or we can let ourselves slouch into the lazy existence of consumerism and carelessness.
In our lives, we have the power to greatly effect the people around us, by our behaviour, our emotions and our words.
Humans are observant creatures. Even if we don't always know it, we are always observing. Forever reading body language, tones of voice, eye movement, all the small lines and creases on our companions faces, trying to read them, understand them, find out if we can trust them.
And how we react or behave towards others can shift them onto a course that is unpleasant or positive.
And it isn't just the big things that can do this, either.
In example:
I work in retail and I deal with dozens of people ever day. Every time I face a new customer I have a lot of options. I can either be kind and compassionate, helpful and service their needs, or I could be rude, careless, without any desire to help them in any way.
I try to remind myself of this every day I'm at work, particularly when I am feeling depressed.
In my mind, I'm not meaning to be rude, I'm just busy fighting my melancholy self. To them however, I am dismissive. I am rude. I am unhelpful. I anger them, offend them, hurt their feelings. This is their time, not mine. I'm ruining their shopping, their escapism, their break from reality.
Their anger with me reduces down to a thick raging sludge by the time they confront anyone about it.
Whether it be to a friend or one of my managers, the sludge will surely spill. "That girl was so damn rude, she didn't even smile or say hello! God, all I wanted was another size in these bloody shoes! If she hates her damn job so much, she should quit."
And on it continues to reduce, until she convinces herself that I was pure evil and was out to ruin her day from the get go.
And here I was, thinking I had no control over the world around me.
If I am compassionate, on the other hand... They leave happy, contented, smiling. They speak of good things. A problem has been removed and I was the one their to solve it for them.
They are grateful. Satisfied.
This happens every minute you are existing around other beings. You are behaving, and they are reading.
If I am happy and positive, being a helpful little servant to the masses buying clothing and shoes, and one dare come up in a bad mood and rave at me, spilling past reduced anger all over me, I will be talking away to myself in my mind of her rudeness for hours. I may even mention to a co-worker or two of her horribleness. Sure to let my anger reduce to sludge, which then spills over onto others.
Sludge. It is contagious. One spills it, one picks it up, one carries it with them until they spill it onto another, who picks it up and continues the viscous cycle.
How do we stop this toxic sludge? This anger? This disgust? This foul process in our minds?
Compassion.
If we face every one, every day, with compassion and understanding, with reason and patiences, we can reduce the production of this terrible, hatred filled, anger ridden sludge.
We can produce happiness in others. We can produce positivity.
Be the sweet, compassionate, caring person you always wanted in your own life. Be the person others need. Be strong. Be kind. Be gentle with your hands, be gentle with your words and be gentle with your mind.
Everyone around you is listening, everyone is watching, everyone is reading.
Break the cruel cycle of the unhappy sludge and send out positivity.
Believe. Believe that by doing this, you can change somebodies day. By being positive and kind, you may even distract someone from their unhappy sludge long enough for them to get to a better place.
You have a lot of power. See it, use it, change your universe.
- This is as much a message to you, as it is to myself.
It is so easy to believe that we are small and insignificant, that we cannot control the masses - And it's true, to a degree, we can't control others.
What we can control however, is ourselves. We can choose whether we create great things with out hands, voices, minds and harbour kind beliefs, or we can let ourselves slouch into the lazy existence of consumerism and carelessness.
In our lives, we have the power to greatly effect the people around us, by our behaviour, our emotions and our words.
Humans are observant creatures. Even if we don't always know it, we are always observing. Forever reading body language, tones of voice, eye movement, all the small lines and creases on our companions faces, trying to read them, understand them, find out if we can trust them.
And how we react or behave towards others can shift them onto a course that is unpleasant or positive.
And it isn't just the big things that can do this, either.
In example:
I work in retail and I deal with dozens of people ever day. Every time I face a new customer I have a lot of options. I can either be kind and compassionate, helpful and service their needs, or I could be rude, careless, without any desire to help them in any way.
I try to remind myself of this every day I'm at work, particularly when I am feeling depressed.
In my mind, I'm not meaning to be rude, I'm just busy fighting my melancholy self. To them however, I am dismissive. I am rude. I am unhelpful. I anger them, offend them, hurt their feelings. This is their time, not mine. I'm ruining their shopping, their escapism, their break from reality.
Their anger with me reduces down to a thick raging sludge by the time they confront anyone about it.
Whether it be to a friend or one of my managers, the sludge will surely spill. "That girl was so damn rude, she didn't even smile or say hello! God, all I wanted was another size in these bloody shoes! If she hates her damn job so much, she should quit."
And on it continues to reduce, until she convinces herself that I was pure evil and was out to ruin her day from the get go.
And here I was, thinking I had no control over the world around me.
If I am compassionate, on the other hand... They leave happy, contented, smiling. They speak of good things. A problem has been removed and I was the one their to solve it for them.
They are grateful. Satisfied.
This happens every minute you are existing around other beings. You are behaving, and they are reading.
If I am happy and positive, being a helpful little servant to the masses buying clothing and shoes, and one dare come up in a bad mood and rave at me, spilling past reduced anger all over me, I will be talking away to myself in my mind of her rudeness for hours. I may even mention to a co-worker or two of her horribleness. Sure to let my anger reduce to sludge, which then spills over onto others.
Sludge. It is contagious. One spills it, one picks it up, one carries it with them until they spill it onto another, who picks it up and continues the viscous cycle.
How do we stop this toxic sludge? This anger? This disgust? This foul process in our minds?
Compassion.
If we face every one, every day, with compassion and understanding, with reason and patiences, we can reduce the production of this terrible, hatred filled, anger ridden sludge.
We can produce happiness in others. We can produce positivity.
Be the sweet, compassionate, caring person you always wanted in your own life. Be the person others need. Be strong. Be kind. Be gentle with your hands, be gentle with your words and be gentle with your mind.
Everyone around you is listening, everyone is watching, everyone is reading.
Break the cruel cycle of the unhappy sludge and send out positivity.
Believe. Believe that by doing this, you can change somebodies day. By being positive and kind, you may even distract someone from their unhappy sludge long enough for them to get to a better place.
You have a lot of power. See it, use it, change your universe.
- This is as much a message to you, as it is to myself.
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