Connectedness III — Kindness

We have been exploring the sense of connectedness with the world and with other beings. We have realized that the strangers we see all around us worry about the same things we do: our finances, our relationships and concern for others, our health and well-being. They also experience the same happiness and joys that we do: connecting with others in a deep way, happiness at the birth of a new family member, the growth of connection with a marriage, achievements in our work and personal life that bring us satisfaction. In other words, “They” (all the “others”) are Just Like Us.

When we sense that connection with others in the deepest way, we have stepped into the stream of spiritual growth. Knowing that we are connected with all other beings (and our environment), we have to consider what would be the best way to be present to and interact with all those we come in contact with throughout our day. What is our intention when we meet someone “just like us?” I think the most skillful basis of all our actions and interactions would be Kindness. Kindness is a gentle quality that supports and enables our connections with others.

In a 60 Minutes interview, Leslie Stahl asked Louise Owens, a violinist in New York City, what it was like to live with a perfect photographic memory. When asked if, on the whole, she was glad she had it, Louise Owens said, “I am. I mean, sure, there are times when it’s difficult. But it makes me live my life with so much more intention and so much more joy.”

Asked what she meant by “intention” she said, “I know I’m going to remember whatever happens today. I’ll remember it forever. So I want to live with intention.” She chose to live with joy and kindness.

Mediation Teacher Doug Kraft woke up in the middle of the night with a vision of connectedness. This was his take-way from that experience:

I saw that kindness is more important than anything else. What I say or do matters little as long as it is guided by kindness. Over the span of thousands of years and thousands of lifetimes, kindness is the force most able to make a difference and most able to move toward freedom, peace, and wellbeing.

Knowing that my confidence in this simple truth would fade, I made vows. I don’t remember the words if indeed there were words at all. I vowed to let kindness guide my life. I vowed to follow that vision even when I forgot it.

The Dalai Lama says, “My religion is loving-kindness. Be kind whenever possible… It is always possible!”