Theme description: There is the concept of a good deed, there is the concept of mutual assistance, and there is simply goodness and, as they say in some song, there is about happiness, but here we will say about goodness - “It cannot but exist.”
In general, here is a small note for you - an essay - it is also a discussion on the topic:
"What is good?"
Goodness is a bright and pleasant feeling that gives a smile and brings joy. Sometimes it causes the heart to skip a beat. Good is comparable to a piece of happiness.
All my friends have their own definition of good. Someone believes that to be kind means not to offend the weak, not to deceive and to help people. Others believe that if you have fulfilled your duty to your family, to your relatives, and have not let anyone down, this is kindness.
Goodness in my understanding is to intentionally and selflessly help another without expecting anything in return. If I simply told a stranger how to get to a place he is interested in, that is already good. Kindness done effortlessly and spontaneously is the most pleasant deed for me.
I try to be good and do good for everyone. For friends and strangers, for animals. Good is the highest manifestation of morality in any person.
Doing good is not entirely easy. After all, now many people in most cases think about themselves and their interests, run about business and do not want to notice those in need of help. But for many, a warm word, a smile or an encouraging handshake is enough.
Learning to do good, to be kind, is hard but worthy work. And the good done free of charge, from the bottom of your heart, will return to you a hundredfold.
Kindness is a high and strong feeling. Thousands of books have been written about him, hundreds of films have been made. Good wins in fairy tales. It underlies the world's religions. But why is there so little of it in the world? New times, new morals, new ideals. Kindness is a bad investment: no promotion, no money, no fame.. But what about those whose hearts are still open to the world? How to bring goodness back into the lives of 7 billion people and become kinder yourself?
What is kindness?
Kindness is the desire to help. Do it just like that, without demanding favors or gratitude in return, without expecting public encouragement. A good deed is not a demonstrative action, not a plot for a legend.. This is a common act of a real person. Today it is difficult to meet a selfless person. From childhood, the child is taught the basics of exemplary morality. Why do you need to give up your seat on the bus? So that others don’t look at you with a judgmental look, so as not to look like a bad person. But who will think that offering a seat to a mother with a child, a pregnant woman or an elderly man is help? Giving up your seat means making life easier for another person, even if only for the next 10-20 minutes. It doesn’t matter if it’s a child who, although not on purpose, is still pushed by adults in transport, a woman tired of toxicosis, or an old man who can hardly move his legs. Kindness is the ability to understand.
Many people also try to understand the difference between goodness and kindness. In fact, everything is very simple: goodness is what a person with kindness does.
Kindness is a bright feeling
Portrait of a kind man
Two friends walk along the road hugging
Fighting arrogance
While narcissism and narcissism come first, you shouldn’t expect good deeds from a person. Noticing arrogant behavior is not an easy task. Catch and suppress thoughts in your head: “I am better,” “I am more beautiful,” “I am smarter,” “I am more talented.” The feeling of superiority does not allow a person to “stoop” to kindness. After all, this is a feeling of “weak and deprived.” The higher a person climbs the ladder of narcissism, the harder it is for him to decide to do a good deed from the heart.
Stifling envy
Envy gives rise to a whole bunch of negative emotions in the soul. If a beautiful neighbor gets into trouble and is visited by crowds of attractive gentlemen, her tragedy will be perceived as compensation. For what? For the suffering that envy causes to a person, eating away from the inside. This is the other side of arrogance, the desire to repay for a “humiliated” position, for a lack of benefits, deprivation, and apparent injustice. Who will help the opponent? Who will lend a helping hand to someone whom he has long dreamed of seeing in his shadow? A person wants to wipe the nose of the object of envy, hence his cowardice and inability to do a good deed.
Letting go of grievances
What kind of good deeds are we talking about when a person cannot forgive his neighbor for a mere trifle? But even if the offense is serious, it will become an obstacle to love for others. This is because the human brain tends to generalize information. Having harbored a grudge against his ex-girlfriend deep in his soul, the guy creates a subconscious anchor. When he meets a young lady abandoned by his gentleman, the first thought that will appear is: “It’s my own fault.” This is the nature of man- and woman-haters who carry resentment towards all members of the opposite sex. The same basis drives the consciousness of racists, nationalists, and homophobes.
A Muslim man helps an elderly lady carry her bags on the subway.
We don't label
It is human nature to form an opinion about others under the influence of other people’s stories: mom, dad, girlfriend, colleague. We elevate the impression of another person to the rank of our own. They found a black sheep in the team, labeled them and doomed them to loneliness. What prevents you from helping a person? Public opinion. Since he was recorded as an outcast, it means there was a reason for it. The very first impulse of kindness, a prick of conscience, is suppressed by public opinion.
Another example. Why are couples afraid to take children from an orphanage? They hang labels: parents who were drunkards passed on the genes, the mother was a drug addict - bad heredity. This attitude prevents thousands of children from finding a home. Before you take someone else’s opinion on faith, don’t be lazy and talk to the person personally.
We don't think about self-interest
As long as a person cares about profit, he will not be able to truly open his heart to kindness. Yes, he will receive the fruits, but as a strict accountant according to a clearly verified percentage. Self-interest deprives the joy experienced for another person. She does not allow us to admire the successes achieved thanks to the assistance provided. A good deed done for the sake of public approval, so as not to be scolded, is also self-serving. Kindness is where it does not depend on conditions and other people's views.
When you decide to do a good deed, think about what motivates you? If you find a phone on the street, you can give it away, thinking about the reward. Or you can return what was lost, worrying about the person: what if he doesn’t have enough money for a new one or there are important contacts left in the gadget.
The current Dalai Lama is a kind and wise man who encourages people to be kinder to each other
We fight selfishness
“What about me?” - a thought that prevents people from doing good deeds. The fear of losing time, money, profit, wasting precious energy in vain destroys the growth of good intentions in the bud. No one has canceled self-love, through it the path to other people’s hearts opens, but selfishness is a different feeling. It is mundane, blind, petty. An egoist lives by material values. He does not pay attention to the world around him if it is not within his circle of interests. He will not see someone else's misfortune as he passes by. An egoist does not know the pain of another person. He is not capable of love and good deeds are a luxury for him.
Conclusion
Expand the boundaries of perception. Look at people, listen, communicate. You can get rid of selfishness through interest in other people's lives. Listen to your dialogues: have they turned into a monologue about your “I”? Bringing kindness back into the world is a difficult task. Start with yourself. Reach out your hand to your neighbor. Just like that. Time will pass, and the world will smile kindly back at you.
23 January 2014, 17:34The topics of the articles “come” to me on their own. The other day, for example, the following topic appeared: “What is the true kindness of a spiritual person?”, and today the answer came in the form of a verse:
Kindness has no boundaries or forms,
Kindness is light, light from all sides.
The light of Love is such that it cannot be described.
Kindness is the happiness of helping others!
Kindness is the joy of giving love,
Kindness is happiness to soar in Love.
You won’t talk about it or sing about it,
But you always understand kindness with kindness...
One could, of course, put an end to this, but I was drawn to understand more deeply the concept of “true kindness” and see how this quality manifests itself in the character of a spiritual person.
What is True Kindness?
Since childhood, my beloved grandmother Nina has been a truly kind person for me. She showed by her example how you can always be a kind, open, sincere and truly conscientious Person. Grandmother’s kindness was disarming and opened up some boundaries within so much that sometimes I wanted to cry from tenderness and some inexplicable and immense aching feeling coming from within, to which it was impossible to find words. At such moments, I hugged her tightly and realized that it was Kindness and Love that connected us all with an invisible thread. After all, no matter what country you live in, the language of KINDNESS and humanity is the same everywhere. As we can see, the root here is “good”. And then I remembered one phrase of a very wise man:
Good is short-lived, but if it is permanent, it is eternal.
Kindness has many manifestations and forms:
- For me, it is often expressed by the word “yes” and has such facets as selflessness, unconditionality and simplicity. Kindness is a quality inherent in every person from birth. But whether a person manifests it into this world or not depends on his choice.
- For me, kindness is also a STEP into something invisible, but united, it always fills me. Living in kindness since childhood, I considered it a true manifestation of any person, but gradually, as I grew up, I realized that this does not always happen in this material world. On my life’s path I met different people in whom, as if on the edges of a crystal, what was in the core was manifested, and I was always pleased that most people’s core was light, bright, attractive and kind. And at some point the realization came that a truly strong Person is, first of all, a Kind person. Images from fairy tales and epics about Russian heroes immediately came to mind.
True kindness - how does it manifest itself in a person?
But still, in order to understand even more deeply the question: “What is the true kindness of a spiritual person,” I turned not to world literature and life experience, but to the books of my favorite writer Anastasia Novykh. Moreover, the main character of her books is a very unusual Personality.
Let's see what the main character of the books, Nastya, first noticed when she met him: “God, what a familiar face.” And a little further, describing Sensei’s appearance, she will note:
I was even taken aback by surprise, looking into his eyes in surprise. In his attentive gaze there shone unfailing kindness and concern.
I specifically highlighted what Nastya noticed, and what always endears us to a person in the first place.
It is interesting that the author uses exactly the same phrase in his second book when describing the meeting of Antipius and an unusual old man in black clothes:
Grayish-brown hair with a snow-white beard framed his unusual face. A light, friendly smile wandered across his lips. And the extraordinary eyes, looking exactly into the very soul of the guy, radiated deep sympathy and unfailing kindness.
And here is a description of Elder Anthony’s appearance from another of her books, “Birds and Stone”:
He looked about ninety years old. A bit dry. Very tall, about ninety meters. Correct Slavic facial features. His beard and slightly curly long hair were white as snow. He was dressed in a warm, somewhat antique-cut cassock. On her feet are rural quilted burkas. The old man's legs were clearly painful, since every movement was given to him with great difficulty. Despite such external darkness, his eyes radiated life-giving kindness and inner strength.
Pictures of disasters and natural disasters were intertwined with Rigden’s calm gaze. And this look gave some amazing effect: it calmed, caressed the soul with its unusually heartfelt kindness.
How many interesting adjectives have been written for this word! “Unchanging, life-giving, unusually soulful.” Moreover, in a real person, according to Sensei, this is the dominant quality. Talking in the book “Crossroads” about the return of Jesus to the body, he notes:
So, Jesus, as a Great Soul, entered his body almost instantly, and what a trace remained on the shroud. A person who is not spiritually prepared will not be able to withstand the manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Shambhala, if he appears in his true form, and not encapsulated in matter from birth in the world. As a rule, only a spiritually prepared person, free from attachment to matter, and morally pure, can withstand His high-frequency vibrations. Why? Because a person, cultivating the spiritual principle in himself, completely changes himself, the inner world, the astral, changes. In it Love and Kindness dominate, that is, his brain begins to function at a completely different frequency. Therefore, there is no harm to him as such in manifesting the true essence of a Bodhisattva.
But it's not just the eyes that can express kindness. Nastya, talking about another dialogue with Sensei, notes:
Sensei spoke simply and clearly. His words were filled with such sincerity, such participation, strength and kindness, that even my “lotus flower” involuntarily started working, spreading pleasant warmth throughout my body. And my soul felt so good, as if all the pretend masks had fallen off of me, revealing for a while my real Essence. And for some reason, it was in this free state that I really understood what Sensei was talking about. For this understanding did not come through words, but through my soul.
From the book "Sensei-II"
Thus, we gradually come to understand that when Love and Kindness dominate in a person, he, firstly, becomes a Human being, and secondly, this is manifested in his appearance, thoughts, words and actions.
What is spiritual life like?
Let us turn again to the books of Anastasia Novykh, in this case to the book “AllatRa” (p. 149):
Life is a series of events, where every moment is like a link in a chain, like a frame in a film, which captures all the thoughts and deeds of a person. It happens that you watch a good film and get a positive impression from it, since most of the frames in it are light and bright. And sometimes you watch another film, and it creates a depressing mood, because most of the frames in it are dark and gloomy. So it’s important that your life film is light and bright, that it contains as many good shots as possible. And every frame is a moment here and now. The quality of every frame of your life film depends solely on you, because you make your life light or dark with your thoughts and deeds. The moment you have lived cannot be erased, you cannot cut it out, and there will not be a second take of it. Spiritual life is the saturation of every frame with Kindness, Love, good thoughts and deeds.
The main thing is to keep a clear focus in life on the Spiritual nature, engage in spiritual practices, expand your horizons of Knowledge, not succumb to the provocations of the Animal nature, and create in yourself a feeling of true Love for God. And, naturally, do good deeds more often, live according to Conscience. This is daily work, a gradual victory over oneself. All of this makes up your path, which no one will walk for you and no one will do this spiritual work for you.
Thus, the true Kindness of a spiritual Man is a spiritual quality given to us by God from birth, but whether it will blossom in a person into the true Kindness of a spiritual Man depends on internal work on oneself. In the Man with a Capital Letter it is developed and expressed in its maximum form, so it cannot be overlooked or missed.
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How to be a kind person? How to become a kind person?
Vyacheslav Burmatov
I have no doubt that most people know the answer to the question “what does it mean to be a kind person,” and after reading this article, many may say, “I already knew that.” But how many are able to follow the existing knowledge and honestly say to themselves that I am kind? Possession of knowledge is something realized, something that is part of our life, something that guides us in our behavior, the rest is simply familiarization with this knowledge. Many people lack the strength or faith that by acting in accordance with existing knowledge, our lives will begin to improve for the better, or we simply do not want to take the first step, waiting for someone else to take it. But life may never change if you don’t start applying knowledge in your personal life, if you don’t start changing something and act decisively, but only continue to accumulate information that gathers dust in our memory. Read the article on how to become a kind person.
Let's look at what it means to be a kind person, how kindness manifests itself, and how it can help in our lives. Kindness is responsive moral behavior caused by the desire to do good. Becoming a kind person means having the following basic components of good behavior: a soft, kind heart, sensitivity towards others and the ability to be unpretentious - more on this for everyone.
Sensitivity
Sensitivity towards others means that a person is attentive to other people's problems. How to be a kind person means to have responsiveness, such a person is not indifferent to what happens to others, to close people, and in difficult times he will not stand aside. But there are people whose sensitivity remains at the level of words, they say that you can rely on me, and in difficult times they are ready to help, but as for the matter, so “I would help, but you know this kind of thing here, let’s do it another time” and a song began, and the songs were different from time to time. In general, no matter how, there are no such “friends” at once - that is, there is only a desire to seem sensitive and responsive, and most often due to some selfish goals. A sensitive person sincerely tries to help, and the main manifestation of sensitivity is the desire to participate in the lives of loved ones.
Sensitivity
But sensitivity is not the only quality; in order to be kind, a person also needs to be unpretentious - that is, not make great demands on anyone, especially allowing people to remain with their point of view, accepting them as they are and not be intrusive. If our sensitivity knows no bounds, and we do not accept the position of other people, do not take their opinions into account, even if we are sure that we are right and the other person is wrong, this does not mean being kind. A fanatical desire to correct a person indicates that we experience pain from the words and actions of another person, because we show compassion only for ourselves, taking a selfish position, concentrating on personal happiness.
“Whoever moves forward in knowledge, but lags behind in morality, goes backward rather than forward.” Aristotle
How to become a kind person - you need to become unpretentious, such a person understands that people have their own shortcomings that cannot be corrected overnight, he is not attached to the idea of changing a person, his shortcomings do not cause irritation. How to be a kind person means setting an example of correct behavior to others by your behavior, knowing that it is almost impossible to convince another by spitting foam from the mouth, only proving your point; moreover, you can completely break off the relationship, losing the opportunity to somehow help the person. Leaving freedom of choice, and not, as some might think, a devil-may-care attitude, a person decides for himself what to do and what to correct in himself. And, seeing the unobtrusive attitude towards himself, sooner or later he himself will turn for advice to such a friend whom he will certainly listen to. Ask yourself, would you like to have such a friend?
kind heart
And the main component of kindness is a soft, kind heart, that is, the very ability to follow moral principles that were mentioned in the definition of kindness. A person with a soft heart is able not to return evil for evil, to punish without feeling angry, and to be compassionate towards people leading an incorrect lifestyle.
"Compassion will heal more sins than judgment" Henry Ward Beecher
Many people wonder why they should tolerate negative words and actions addressed to them, believing that this is a manifestation of humiliation and connivance. At the same time, responding to the opponent’s attacks in a similar manner, they consider themselves better, and tell themselves that I am generally a kind person, but he just made me look like such a scoundrel. But what kindness is is our quality of character, this is our attitude towards a person, while filling with anger and hostility towards another person, a negative connection is created, as a result of which irritable behavior appears.
When we are angry, we forget about all the good things that exist in a person; it is almost impossible to end such a conversation peacefully without harboring anger and resentment towards the other. Anger is fueled by the same anger, but by showing kindness and calmness, thinking about something good about this person, the unkind attitude will gradually subside. To become a kind person, try to follow this behavior when there is a dispute or any family trouble, try to maintain the right relationship. Otherwise, remembering or seeing a person with whom we are angry or offended, our mood deteriorates, which spills over onto those around us.
“Overcome hatred with love, injustice with truth, violence with patience” Mahatma Gandhi
But one should not confuse a soft, kind heart with weakness of character, which manifests itself in the inability to do the right thing and behave strictly towards others. A person of weak character is one who is strongly attached to personal happiness, to constant comfort; this is a person who is unable to say “No” and has a strong dependence. For clarity, let’s look at family relationships where the husband exploits his wife and constantly pushes her around. If a husband allows too much in his address, which means connivance and humiliation, then what happens is the person simply becomes impudent. If a person does not repent, then rude behavior becomes part of his character - such behavior spoils the life of both, the one who was insulted, due to the accumulation of resentment, and the offender himself. We must analyze our actions and see what fruits our behavior will bring in the future.
How would a person with a kind heart behave if he found himself in a similar situation? To be kind means to deeply understand and accept that until a person is calmed down, it is almost impossible to call him to reason or conscience, so at first he does not speak in an irritable manner and shows about the offense caused to him, while thinking about the good character traits of another person, so that he himself does not lose balance, and then continues to behave strictly. If a person raises his hand, but has not shown such behavior before, most likely he will immediately come to his senses and begin to ask for forgiveness, but even in this case it is necessary to behave strictly and step back so that the person fully understands what he has done.
But in order to be able to distance oneself, one must not be too dependent on another - this is tantamount to raising children, if we follow their lead and cannot tolerate their whims, we will simply spoil our children, allowing them whatever they want. It is necessary to remember that you need to punish out of good intentions, and not out of anger, because people feel quite strongly what kind of force escapes from the heart. How to become a kind person - you need to steadily try to do good deeds, in conclusion, let’s summarize what has been said that brings positive things into our lives when we follow the path of goodness.
To be a kind person means to have
Good reliable friends
The ability to tolerate other people's shortcomings
The ability to help people leading an unhealthy lifestyle
Ability to build and maintain good relationships
The ability to act strictly for the benefit of oneself and other people
A good destiny and much, much more... and check what exactly in your own life!
Kindness … Dictionary of Russian synonyms
Kindness, (kindness) warmth, sincerity; kindness, affectionateness, kindness, kindness, complacency, love of kindness, humanity, philanthropy, compassion, good-naturedness, kind-heartedness, good nature, responsiveness, complacency, ... ... Dictionary of synonyms
Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary
1. KINDNESS, kindness, many. no, female distracted noun to kind. Kindness of character. 2. KINDNESS, kindness, many. No. wives (obsolete). Dignity, value of goods, good quality. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary
KINDNESS, s, female. 1. see kind. 2. Responsiveness, emotional disposition towards people, desire to do good to others. Full of kindness who n. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary
kindness- KINDNESS, good-heartedness, good-heartedness, sincerity, kindness, kindness, gentleness, cordiality, bookishness. goodness KIND, good-hearted, friendly, sincere, kind-hearted, sympathetic, cordial, warm, outdated. merciful,... ... Dictionary-thesaurus of synonyms of Russian speech
Kindness- Kindness ♦ Bonté The human property of being kind is not so much a separate virtue as a combination in one person of several different and complementary virtues: generosity, gentleness, compassion, benevolence, and sometimes love. That,… … Sponville's Philosophical Dictionary
I distracted noun according to adj. good I 1. II f. distracted noun according to adj. kind II 1. Explanatory dictionary of Efremova. T. F. Efremova. 2000... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Efremova
KINDNESS, USSR, film studio named after. M. Gorky, 1977, color, 85 min. Psychological drama. Based on the story “Absolute Pitch” by Semyon Laskin. Film about school. Cast: Tamara Semina (see SEMINA Tamara Petrovna), Leonid Nevedomsky (see NEVEDOMSKY... ... Encyclopedia of Cinema
Y; and. Emotional disposition towards people, benevolence, responsiveness, desire to do good to others. Genuine soul. D. heart. Heart d… Encyclopedic Dictionary
Books
- Kindness , . The developmental set "Kindness" is a unique way to gently and carefully influence a child's character with the help of a fairy tale. People are not born kind, strong, strong-willed and smart, but...
