For my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah, she needed to find a quote she liked. She didn’t hesitate and answered, “Something about kindness. How you can always be kind to people.”
I’ve been thinking a lot about kindness the last few days. I, of course, love that my child’s gravitation is toward living kindness as a way of life. But I have been wondering, is kindness more subjective than we realize? There are certain actions that are empirically unkind, yes. Acts of physical violence, harmful words, theft of property or theft of individual freedom. The notion of random acts of kindness too, these seem clear: putting money in a stranger’s parking meter, smiling more, opening a door for someone. What of the people in our intimate worlds, however. How do we practice kindness with those who we know well, does that change the qulity, and quantity, or our kindness? And what of the kind acts toward the imperfect beings that we call our Selves?
Furhtermore, is the flip side of kindness evil? Or is there something more subtle, more insiduous sometimes. Is it also something subjective and malleable? And the impetus to be kind, is it to make others feel good, or is it most often to avoid our own feelings of feeling pain? I want to explore these thoughts with you on our,
(drumroll please….)
UPCOMING RETREAT!
We have been trying to find a date for a good year now, and finally decided to stay in town and just do a simple day retreat in the sanctuary of our temple space. We will practice yoga, both Ashtanga and restorative, we will breathe a bit together, meditate together, maybe have some Indian inspired lunch, and a guest speaker. And throughout the day, we will ponder this theme of kindness.
I hope you will join me.
Our proposed date is SUNDAY MARCH 24, from 10 am-6 pm. Other details to follow, but do let me get a preliminary head count if you will be able and interested to join.
In the mean time, our practices this week continue: 2/7 9:15 am; 2/9 8:15 am
Next week, NO CLASS, 2/14.
in peace, and loving kindness,
Michelle
