Kindness is More Important Than Wisdom-Daily Meditation
Today’s quotation:
Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.-Theodore Isaac Rubin
Today’s Meditation:
Are we putting the cart before the horse if we try to develop our wisdom before we make strong efforts to be kind? Are we sabotaging our efforts to make our lives richer if we put learning and growing before the very simple–yet often challenging–the task of being kind? What might we be learning from being kind that could help us to grow in wisdom, if only we were able and willing to make kindness a strong focus in our lives?
Kindness can be the beginning of many good things in our lives–compassion, courtesy, peace of mind, hope, a sense of connection, and wisdom. Kindness can make us feel better about ourselves and it can help us to look for the best in others as we try to figure out what kind of things we can give or share, and which acts of kindness would be helpful and appropriate. With a focus on kindness–with no thought of what we might get back when we’re kind–we keep our minds and hearts focused on positive things, on the well-being of others, and on love.
If we want to be wise, Theodore says, we must be kind first. I can think of many worse ways to start out on the road to a better life than by being kind to our fellow human beings who are sharing our reality on this planet. Kindness costs us nothing, and its potential benefits far outweigh the benefits of so many other things that we give our time and energy to. An unconditional act of kindness can contribute much to its recipient, to the world in the form of positive energy, and to the dispenser of kindness, who truly is on the path to wisdom.
Questions to consider:
How often do you consider being kind on an active basis?
How many opportunities for showing and sharing kindness did you have yesterday? How many of them did you take advantage of?
How can my kindness today contribute to the world as a whole?
For further thought:
All the kindness that a person puts out into the world works on the heart and thoughts of humankind. -Albert Schweitzer
