33. 3 October 2019
You stopped at Schneider's for breakfast doughnuts and milk, then drove to Otterbein Cemetery to take down artificial flowers at the grave sites, and you trimmed and cleaned up in the surrounding area as the graves are at the northwest boundary of the cemetery. Presently, Carol and Linda are out digging up weeds in the front flower garden. (Digging up weeds is something Linda enjoys doing as their lawn at home is mostly a garden anyway, no grass as such in front, back or sides of a double lot. Bill is a master gardener.) - Amorella
1027 hours. I am forgetful that Ms Havisham is taking this blog from her viewpoint. As a soul kindness is a given, or appears to be, and she is right. This is her last comment to me in yesterday's Note 32: "exploring kindness is not too much for anyone, no matter what one's age."
Thank you, old man, for the introduction. Following your lead on things, let's begin with an introduction from Wikipedia. - mh
** **
Kindness
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kindness is a behavior marked by ethical characteristics, a pleasant disposition, and concern and consideration for others. It is considered a virtue, and is recognized as a value in many cultures and religions (see ethics in religion).
In Book II of "Rhetoric", Aristotle defines kindness as "helpfulness towards someone in need, not in return for anything, nor for the advantage of the helper himself, but for that of the person helped". Nietzsche considered kindness and love to be the "most curative herbs and agents in human intercourse". Kindness is considered to be one of the Knightly Virtues. In Meher Baba's teachings, God is synonymous with kindness: "God is so kind that it is impossible to imagine His unbounded kindness!"
In society
In human mating choice, studies suggest that both men and women value kindness and intelligence in their prospective mates, along with physical appearance, attractiveness, social status, and age.
Nice guy
A "nice guy" is an informal and usually stereotypical term for an (often young) adult male who portrays himself as gentle, compassionate, sensitive, and/or vulnerable. The term is used both positively and negatively. When used positively, and particularly when used as a preference or description by someone else, it is intended to imply a male who puts the needs of others before his own, avoids confrontations, does favors, gives emotional support, tries to stay out of trouble, and generally acts nicely towards others. In the context of a relationship, it may also refer to traits of honesty, loyalty, romanticism, courtesy and respect. When used negatively, a nice guy implies a male who is unassertive, does not express his true feelings and, in the context of dating (in which the term is often used), uses acts of ostensible friendship with the unstated aim of progressing to a romantic or sexual relationship.
In psychology
Based on experiments at Yale University using games with babies, some studies concluded that kindness is inherent to human beings. There are similar studies about the root of empathy in infancy - motor mirroring developing in the early months of life, to lead (optimally) to the easy concern shown by children for their peers in distress.
Barbara Taylor and Adam Phillips have stressed the element of necessary realism in adult kindness, as well as the way “real kindness changes people in the doing of it, often in unpredictable ways”.
In literature
· The Tirukkural, an ancient Indian work on ethics and morality, dedicates a separate chapter on kindness (Chapter 8, verses 71–80), furthering the value in other chapters, such as hospitality (verses 81–90), uttering pleasant words (verses 91–100), compassion (verses 241–250), moral vegetarianism (verses 251–260), non-violence (verses 311–320), non-killing (verses 321–330), and benignity (verses 571–580), among others.
· Mark Twain from a compassion point of view considered "Kindness [as a] language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
· It has been suggested that 'most of Shakespeare's opus could be considered a study of human kindness'.
· Robert Louis Stevenson considered that 'the essence of love is kindness; and indeed, it may best be defined as passionate kindness: kindness, so to speak, run mad and become importunate and violent'.
· The Christian apostle Paul lists kindness as one of the nine traits considered to be the "fruit of the Spirit" in Galatians 5:22. In 1 Corinthians 13:4 he states, "Love is patient, love is kind."
·
In media
Based on the novel of the same name written in 1999 by author Catherine Ryan Hyde, the motion picture Pay it Forward, which starred Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment and Jon Bon Jovi, illustrates the power one person can have to make an impact on a chain reaction of kind deeds. The philosophy of Pay It Forward is that through acts of kindness among strangers, we all foster a more caring society. In the book and film, Reuben St. Clair, a social studies teacher in Atascadero, California, challenges his students to "change the world". One of his students, Trevor, takes the challenge to heart. He starts by showing kindness to a stranger which ripples further than he could have ever imagined.
In October 2011, Life Vest Inside posted a video called "Kindness Boomerang". It shows how one act of kindness passes seamlessly from one person to the next and boomerangs back to the person who set it into motion. Orly Wahba, Life Vest Inside Founder and Director of Kindness Boomerang explains that each scene was based on real life experiences she personally went through; moments of kindness that left a lasting impression on her life. Within several months after its release, Kindness Boomerang went viral; reaching over 20 million people globally and eventually landing Wahba spot on the TED201 stage to speak about the power of kindness.
Selected and edited from Wikipedia
** **
1046 hours. I am embarrassed to say this, but I did not know Wikipedia had anything on the subject of kindness. I never looked it up.
Here is the point. In being kind to others one becomes kinder to one's own sense of being. - mh
1510 hours. Is this a rule, Ms Havisham?
This is a guide for your own common sense, old man. - mh
Post. - Amorella
1515 hours. I don't know where I thought this [kindness] was going but it didn't go there.
Souls do not have rules or laws. We have what we are. - mh
1518 hours. What do we have?
Old man, you have your humanity. - mh
1521 hours. Having humanity doesn't mean anything in itself.
If you want ethics, Humanity is all you have. In context, it is all you take with you. Humanity supplies the spiritual blood to the spiritual heartanmind. - mh
1526 hours. That is the way you souls may see it, but that does not make it real or true.
This work is from my point of view not yours. - mh
1528 hours. Ms Havisham, you might as well be one of my fictional Marsupial humanoid aliens in the Merlyn trilogy. No one is going to accept what you say about being human is true because you are not human.
I am a soul. Yours presently. - mh
1532 hours. You are becoming belligerent and arrogant.
Really, now. - mh
You would have been better off, old man, if you had posted when I asked you to do so. - Amorella
1551 hours. I'd make a comment, Amorella, but it would not be kind.
I'm in your head, old man. I know the comment already. You didn't even have to think it. It was stirring in your blood before you were born. - Amorella
No comments:
Post a Comment