“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway”
Mother Teresa
“Everything is clearer when you’re in love”
John Lennon
“The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart”
Buddha
“While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart”
St. Francis of Assisi
“In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart”
Gandhi
“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you”
Jesus
When you look up the definition of being kind you come across to be friendly, generous, or warm hearted and to show sympathy or understanding; to be charitable, humane; considerate.
How many people live like this on a day-to-day basis to everyone and everything they come across. I mean really live like this. In the moment. It is one thing to pity someone but where is the compassion in pity?
The inspirational individuals quoted above touched the heart and soul of humanity in their own unique way. The message they all champion is about living in or from the heart, that doesn’t mean “thinking” about living in the heart it means “being” in the heart. Love in the heart and love in the mind are not the same thing. Being in Love is not the same as being in love with someone else, one is heart based on the self, the other is mind based on someone else. One is real. One is a distorted reflection.
St Francis of Assisi summed it up majestically when he said that words alone are not enough to change anything. If a person has forgotten the Heart source then their thoughts may just as well be a splatter of colors on the canvas of the mind. Only through “acts” (words and deeds) of heart felt kindness can we bring true light into the world.
The duality of mind is the burden of everyone. Conquering it doesn’t rest on the shoulders of some external savior. Do you think there would be wars if awareness wasn’t locked in the duality of mind. This doesn’t mean that all people are unkind, far from it, but true kindness is a Divine quality, the kind that Mother Theresa humbly gave, the kind that Gandhi emanated. The mind has it’s own version of kindness which comes with conditions.
It is the action of being self-less not the thought of being selfless that makes a difference. It is the act of giving while expecting nothing in return. It is the act of never hurting another being physically or emotionally. It is the act of being mind-less and living in the moment with complete awareness of who and what you are. Kindness is not something that can be learned. True kindness comes without conditions. It’s not exclusive to a special few or a divine gift to enlightened gurus, nor is it banished from others because of prior sins, this potential has always been there.
A person is trapped in the dual nature of mind if they understand the world to be profoundly sick but then turn a blind eye or say what can I do about it I am just one person. Why do people think that change must be initiated by vast numbers when it is a simple truth that one candle can light up a darkened room. Why do people “try” to be good. Why do people say I “try” to be an honest person… isn’t this an open admission of their dishonesty. Why do people say all we can do is look for happiness and peace in our lives… why are they looking out there in the polarized possibilities?
Mother Theresa was kind without conditions. Her quote illustrates the greatest challenge that anyone can face. It is easier to chase the idea of being charitable and kind but all you are doing is chasing a non existent pot of gold at the end of a rainbow when the real treasure is already in you.
Coming to understand the Light that shines through the heart is the same Light that shines through every living being is not easy. Bags of skin that cover this Light and make it look like this or look like that are just images created by bags of skin but the truth is simple, there may be lots of different candles burning but there is only one kind of flame. The mind is powerful, what it creates is “real” (whatever real is) and it’s lure is seductive and addictive but full of empty promise.
We love in different measures because our love is conditioned. We love our own children more than all children because our love is conditioned, we love certain people more than we love all people, we treat some people better than we treat all people and we look for this conditioned love to be reciprocated from others to make us feel special. We accept the idea that blood is thicker than water, that family bonds outweigh our commitment to help others, that it’s a them and us reality.
This isn’t being without condition. This is not oneness of heart. The minds warped reflection of kindness comes with it’s polarized opposite, it cannot help it, it is a consequence of duality. This is why there is external war and peace instead of inner harmony. This is why there is a special kind of love for one person and less love for another.
You can be kind or you can be a slave to the minds idea of being kind. The choice is yours. It always has been. You’d be wrong to think that living life free from the conditions of mind will make you weak and open to abuse, on the contrary, it will make you one of the bravest people you know and it will attract like for like kindness back into your life.
Real Love, from which kindness emanates, comes from the sentient light that shines through the heart. It isn’t conditioned by mind. When you become aware of that Light you will Love everything and everyone unconditionally.
This is ascension.
The Shakedown 