Loving Kindness

Dear friends,

Trust that you can never know how far reaching one small act of kindness can be. It creates a ripple effect ad infinitum and can change the lives of many.

As most of you know I have a phone call with my daughters who are studying in different cities, to get the day going and to stay motivated. They particularly love to hear the quotes from Oprah Winfrey’s book “What I know for Sure”. But for the current situation, the war against our neighbours in the Ukraine, I had to go to the master of loving kindness, the Dalia Lama. Perhaps you will find, as I do, some comfort in his words:

It is most important that we have a warm heart. As long as we are part of human society, it is very important to be a kind, warm-hearted person”.

Additionally, I wanted to share this story with you, in the hopes it would support some, in this time of crisis and world unrest.

A few years ago, just before Corona landed in Germany, a dear friend of ours took his own life. I remember feeling so angry. Angry that all the time we had spent with him had seemingly had no value to him. That the sacrifices we had made within our family for our friendship, were in the end, wasted. It’s hard to imagine what your mind will come up with as a response, given a stressful, overwhelming situation. I remember being surprised at my own reaction, but unable to process past the anger. I still get mad at myself for sacrificing quality time with my son, for someone who carelessly threw away this most precious thing we call life. In my pain and discomfort, I reached out to one of my teachers, Nevine Michaan and she responded with some of the words I would like to share with you now:

Life is very hard and for some the struggle is so great.

The universe is perfect, though that does not mean fair.

Great nature works, has order, pattern, vision….I don’t think one has as much say as one thinks of what happens. Life is.

The universe does not judge, things are the way they are.

Lastly, sometimes we cannot physically help others. We donate, but then, our services are at present, not needed. A friend of my brothers was involved in an accident recently. Thankfully, the first on the scene was a war vet, who did an amazing job of saving his life. He was joined by a nurse who was passing by who inspected his work and pronounced “I couldn’t have done better”. She stayed at the scene, got to her knees and prayed. I’m not a believer in organised religion, but I do believe in the power of prayer. Mantras are prayer. Meditation is prayer. It’s just another name for the concentrated energy of the mind. If you find yourself feeling that you want to help, but you don’t know what to do, perhaps you could consider meditating on the prayer of the Dalai Lama:

May the poor find wealth

Those weak with sorrow find joy.

May the forlorn find new hope,

Constant happiness and prosperity.

May the frightened cease to be afraid,

And those bound be free.

May the weak find power,

And may their hearts join in friendship.

With so much love,

Gillian