Ten Minutes to Kindness

Ten minutes to kindness sounds so easy and it so easy to say 'be kind', but, quite often, so hard to be it. People can be difficult, minds and voices clash, we are hurt and then we lash out, causing more hurt and more retaliation in a never-ending cycle of anger.

None of us are perfect, but we are all perfectly human, perfect earthlings, perfectly imperfect, we are what makes our world turn around.

I stumbled upon what follows earlier this year and it became my New Year's Resolution. Whilst it is not always easy, a month in it is becoming easier and I am a happier and less stressed person for it. This has impacted on every being and every situation I have encountered. Don't get me wrong, I still mess up - all the time - but kindness is winning.

Dalai Lama's Millennium Practice

1. Spend 5 minutes at the beginning of each day remembering we all want the same things (to be happy and to be loved) and we are all connected to one another.

2. Spend 5 minutes -- breathing in -- cherishing yourself; and, breathing out cherishing others. If you think about people you have difficulty cherishing,extend your cherishing to them anyway.

3. During the day extend that attitude to everyone you meet. Practice cherishing the "simplest" person (clerks, attendants, etc.), as well as the "important" people in your life; cherish the people you love and the people you dislike.

4. Continue this practice no matter what happens or what anyone does to you. These thoughts are very simple, inspiring and helpful. The practice of cherishing can be taken very deep if done wordlessly, allowing yourself to feel the love and appreciation that already exists in your heart.

Ten minutes to kindness, ten minutes to less stress, ten minutes to a gentler heart.

May Monday be kind to you!