Ten Tenets: Kindness

Kindness is a primarily positive energy, as you might have guessed. This is probably because of how kindness from others, especially, makes you feel. Being kind to others also has a very positive feeling to it. This, to me, suggests that the vibrational impact of being kind is very high, especially if we are kind in the most positive way.

While being kind is usually the best path, it is not always easy, nor is it always a good thing. Today we will be discussing three reasons that being kind is a very positive behavior, but also three ways that attempting to be kind may backfire, and actually be bad!

Kindness is an expression of positivity. It can be directed towards someone else, by being kind and helping them out with a chore they have to do, or it can be for us, by standing up for ourselves, and enforcing healthy boundaries. This use of our positive energy to express it in some way, shape, or form to those around us, or ourselves, helps generate more positive energy in turn.

If that kindness is not genuine, however, and comes from a place of manipulation or ego, then it isn't as positive as being kind just for the sake of being kind. Expecting something for our kindness is the same as being charitable to gain the approval of others, and ultimately defeats the purpose. Truly being kind entails being as good to others as we would like to be treated ourselves, hopefully in order to teach others to be kind in similar ways, by serving as a role model. Being kind to gain something or be perceived a certain way is actually a negative behavior if we are not acting out of the genuine intention of pure kindness.

Being kind can also help make other people happy, or create joy in ourselves. Finding contentment and joy in life is ultimately everyone's goal, I'd like to think, even if it has a more specific definition (such as, "a big house," or "a loving family"). By creating and spreading joy and kindness, we are helping everyone, including ourselves, reach our ultimate goals. Not much better than that, right?

There are also cases in which being kind can lead to ignorance of larger truths or needs. By always choosing to be kind to others, we don't allow space for healthy boundaries to be set. Sometimes, being kind means saying no, or disallowing certain behavior. While the person being told no or restricted may not agree with the new boundary, it doesn't make that boundary any less truly kind. Choosing to be kind to others can sometimes seem mean, as a result, especially to those who aren't fully involved in the situation. A good example of this is the firm cut off that is often suggested when dealing with addicts or narcissists. The addict or narcissist will most certainly think that the person cutting them off is being mean, unreasonable, and cruel. In truth, the person cutting them off is just doing what is best for everyone involved.

Kindness can be used as a powerful tool to help bring communities together, and keep them close. Who do you consider your community? Probably the people who were kind to you, for no real reason other than being kind is the right thing to do. You are probably kind to them, in turn. It stands to reason, then, that if we go out of our way to be as kind to others as often as we possibly can, that our communities will only grow and become strengthened for it.

At the same time, kindness can can sometimes become limited within specific communities. This is sometimes because of hate, but I think it is most often to make sure that the kindness is not taken advantage of by others who are not very likely to also be kind. Regardless, allowing our kindness to become something that we only extend to certain individuals or groups of people, rather than to all people as a whole, is a potential downside to kindness.

Learning to be kind in an open and honest way is one of the most beneficial tools to build a more positive vibration. It is also one of the easiest!

What do you do to be kind to others and the world around you? I'd love to hear more from you!

Affirmation:

Kindness comes easily to me.