Be kind
Would you rather be clever or kind?
The catch is, you’ll never be clever enough. You can be both, of course, and we’re all dealt a different hand.
Clever people are a dime a dozen. It’s the kind ones who make it to the top, because people want to keep working with them.
And it’s the kind ones we hang out with: they don’t treat anyone like a fool.
Kindness alone won’t cut it, though. Be kind on the inside and clever on the outside.
Kindness is like going sober. Stop drinking, and suddenly everyone around you looks drunk. Same with kindness: unkindness jumps right out at you. And to think I used to take all of it at face value.
We go through life with our shields up, braced for whatever hurt other people’s words and actions might bring. You can just lower the shield. Don’t take anything personally. Let it roll off you like water off a duck’s back.
Nobody can offend you. Only you can decide to take offense. Be kinder, and let people be.
Being kind doesn’t make you a pushover. The kind are the strong ones, and life is easier for the strong than for the weak. The angry ones.
Being kind is a tool. It tunes you so divine energy comes through with as little distortion as possible.
Loving-kindness is a compass and a lighthouse for every situation. Train it, and things fall into place. The practice has a name: metta.
Let kindness make the call. Watch which gate your thoughts and choices pass through on their way out. Kindness is the only measure. Then do whatever you want.
It’s better to be kind.