Be Mindful

Be kind.  Isn’t that what we tell our children from the earliest age?  Too bad many of us don’t take that lesson to heart.  Of, course most of us do, although not without a struggle.   When getting a “stick in the eye” from someone, it’s hard to turn that blind eye and then be kind.  

“The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected benefits of leading a compassionate life” by Piero Ferrucci (2006) opened my eyes (including the blind one) to the power we all have when we are kind.  With a preface provided by the Dalai Lama, this book is about honesty, warmth, forgiveness, contact, sense of belonging, trust, mindfulness, and many more ways to be kind.

Mindfulness was a reminder to me to be attentive and not distracted.  He says, “…think of all the people who have not given you the attention you needed: husband, wife, children, friends, colleagues, bosses, doctors, teachers, employees.   Think of someone who, while you are talking to him, is looking elsewhere, or reading the paper, or mentioning a subject that is irrelevant to what you are saying, or just walks away.  Inattention has a disruptive, depressing aspect, which saps our vitality and robs us of our self-confidence…

Mindfulness, or attention, on the other hand, has a magical aspect that gives vitality.  I am speaking of pure attention – without judgment or advice.  To pay attention means that we are able to keep at bay the quarrelsome din that continually invades and tries to seduce the mind.  In this way, attention becomes a moral quality, like love and justice…”

I’m as guilty as the next of being inattentive and, therefore, unkind.   We all have “quarrelsome dins” that make us unmindful and unkind.   According to Ferrucci, the trick is for us to forget the past, stop anticipating the future, and live fully in the present to those who need our undivided attention.  Awareness is the foundation for kindness.

So, PAY ATTENTION!

Deacon David Pierce