Conscious Kindness

Last night I hosted a gathering a of friends.  We've met periodically over the past two years, but hadn't done so since last May.  I think we all felt that it had been too long.  Everyone was bursting to share, release and bathe in the wonderful collective feminine energy.  One things we talked about in particular was kindness.  We each discussed how we had expressed kindness recently to either ourselves or to others.  When it came my turn to share, I talked about how I had shown kindness toward a group of friends recently, but was deeply troubled by the fact that I hadn't shown myself enough kindness. 

I'm hard on myself and I've been told this most of my life.  Lately, as I've pondered the concept of focusing on kindness, I've noticed that the Collective Conscious seems to default to Fear and Anger rather than Kindness.  Being kind to others seems to require an effort, like swimming upstream, and that's just WRONG.  I've been taking deep breaths since last night and exploring the concept of expressing kindness first toward myself and then sharing with others.  It feels good... better, in fact, than harboring anger or fear. 

This past week I was reminded of a negative presence in my life.  This is a person I work with who has had a very negative and unhealthy impact on me.  I talked about her last night and several friends commented that she may not realize the significantly detrimental and negative impact she's had on me, my energy and my health.  The same could probably be said about each of us.  Every action we take impacts someone in some way and contributes to the Collective Conscious.  Rather than go with my first impulse and create a Voodoo Doll for this person, I need to put things in perspective and focus on Kindness -- towards her, myself and to those whom I encounter.  It's a practice, but I think the world needs a lot more Kindness right now.

Below is a poem given to me by one of my students after class this morning.  It is a precious gift that I will take to heart, savor and share with you...

Kindness

Served

In generous amounts

Ladled first

For yourself

Becomes

A river

Flowing

With generous ripples

Gathering

In a pool

Large enough

For us all

To have

A drink

Satisfying

Thank you, Ed and Namaste y'all!