On Kindness and Humanity

As we are faced with the horrendous Hamas attacks on Israel, while not being able to disregard the decades-long brutal treatment of the Palestinians, I want today to focus on we humans and the importance of clinging to our values over our emotions. It is slow, yet important. It feels small, but each step leads us in the direction of peace. Some must indeed fight as their lives are on the line; for those of us not there, we can open our hearts and be beacons of kindness not hate, gatherers of values over flags, and cooling tonic where flames threaten and obscure deeper truths.“Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the figure of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” —Franklin D. RooseveltHumans have always fought; sadly, we now have created tools of immense destruction. And yet, a subset of us carries on with dreams of more peace and less war. Is this a new bottom? Probably not. We will see worse before we see better. But if even one family can raise a child not holding hatred for a stranger, that is a success.It is so human to want to lash out. I know! I know! And yet, consciousness is in part rising above the instinct and seeking out a more meaningful truth. Any of us can stop a cycle of violence in our own small ways. Choose what you “like” on social media and boost those voices who see past the immediate harms.“The best index to a person's character is how he treats people who can't do him any good and how he treats people who can't fight back.” —Abigail Van BurenRead the astounding book by Column McCann, Apeirogon, a novel based on the true story of an Israeli and a Palestinian father who each lost a child to the fighting and chose instead to create a community dedicated to peace and co-existence.

This is my message:It is time to declare your allegiance NOT to a nation state but to a set of human values above all else and work to foster them regardless of who is attacking whom. We must not lose our humanity, those of us who still have some.

Why? Because most every nation state of which I am aware is led in part by war mongers, infected with greed and power, fearful to speak against their funders, their misdeeds held over them in perpetual ransom.And for that second part, accept all of your misdeeds and be willing to own them. That is the only way to be free of them. Because none of you reading this, like me writing this, is immune from having committed shameful acts. It is an essential element of the human condition. What we choose to do with it, that is where our true power resides.“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”— Jane GoodallI am 9 months and over 100 pp into my memoir and I am just beginning to pull off the bandaids that have been covering many of my wounds — a rich mix of self-imposed and other-imposed injuries. Alas, we who chose to incarnate are here sharing the hologram of love and hate, fear and hope, jealousy and generosity. Each day, we choose which one to feed. And it is a choice, whether you are conscious of it or not.Which is why I obsess on consciousness. It is our clearest insight into ourselves and without it, we are just one more lemming jumping over the cliff’s edge, often dragging others with us hand in hand.“Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution.”—Kahlil Gibran

For those who like action lists, I offer the following:

• Think before sharing — is this cool water or gasoline?
• Take time in meditation and offer your thoughts for those who suffer.
• Take a walk outside and find something in the natural world to heal even a tiny pain inside you. The flowers, the sky, the waters, the birds, they are all here for us.
• Read Apeirogon. It cannot help but open your heart and your mind in soft and gentle ways.
• Read An Immense World, by Ed Yong. The natural world remains leaps and bounds ahead of us and you will learn something delightful and divine to lift your spirits.
• Do something, anything, kind for yourself, and repeat this Tantric saying: As I receive pleasure (and kindness, and attention, etc.) so the Universe receives pleasure through me.
• In recognition of today being Indigenous Peoples Day, watch all three seasons of Reservation Dogs on Hulu. The third season goes so many places, and I believe it best to have the groundwork that is laid in Seasons 1 & 2.

We are all takers and we are all givers. What are you taking today? What are you giving today?

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”—Lao Tzu