Being kind is being nice and it makes the person that you are being nice to feel good, and it makes you feel good, too.
Being kind is a passport to making friends, also. When we see someone that is having a problem and then step in to help, everyone benefits; both the one being helped and the one helping out.
Guided meditation on kindness
Start by sitting up straight in your meditation place, and begin doing even and natural breathing like this: breathe in 1 count, and breathe out 1 count, and repeat this even pattern while sitting still and thinking. You don't need to say the numbers during the meditation. Just keep up the even rhythm of breathing.
If you are sitting on a cushion on the floor, bend in your legs and place your folded hands in your lap. If you are sitting in a chair, place the soles of your feet on the floor, and place your clasped hands in your lap. If you like, keep a journal and pen at your side to write about thoughts that come to you about being kind.
Breathing evenly in and out calms the mind and body and is a good preparation for any meditation. And keeping up the even pattern during the meditation gives you a clearer mind and relaxed body so you can turn all your attention to the topic of the meditation.
Now, imagine that you are walking along the street on the sidewalk and you see a woman senior citizen who seems to have too many bags of groceries. She looks like they are too heavy for her.
You run up to her and politely volunteer to carry some of her bags home. She is grateful and you spend a few minutes going out of your way walking home with her. Now, notice that you feel like you have more energy than even before you saw the woman needing help. This is what being kind does, it helps out another and gives you more energy, too.
To finish your meditation, take a deep breath in and slowly release it, then open your eyes and stretch out. Write down any new thoughts that have come to you from thinking about being kind.
Take this thought with you: If more people in our world would take the time to be kind to each other, we would realize we really do live in a big worldwide human family.
Being kind personally
Leads to worldwide peace and harmony.
For offline reading
Meditation and Spirituality for TeensTeens, this is an ebook for you to read and practice on your own, a primer with 15 chapters to learn to meditate in a variety of ways and explore your spiritual nature.
Article by Susan Helene Kramer
