Kindess & Compassion

Just a compilation of quotes I've been collecting over the past week to help me over a couple of humps.   I truly am learning and making progress, but not without work and mindfulness and understanding to be sure:)

To not be angry when somebody does something that I perceive as less than kind has been a struggle for me in the past.  Understanding that everyone struggles to some extent in this life and that everyone is making choices and realizing that those choices don't have anything to do with me or my family, and if they do, knowing it's still not about us, it's about the person making the choices, is something I have learned.  I am the one that is choosing to let those choices affect me.  Realizing I have a choice on whether I let it affect me or not is very freeing.

Believing the best of people and their intentions and stepping back and seeing the whole situation without judgement or blame has been key for me.  Being able to wish those people (whom I've perceived as being less than kind in the past) peace and happiness, and to keep right on interacting how I've always interacted and to not rein in my kindness to them or of reaching out for connection due to some pre-conceived idea of who they are feels good.

That being said, some food for though:)

"Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are." - Unknown Author


"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion." - Dalai Lama


"I always prefer to believe the best of everybody, it saves so much trouble." - Rudyard Kipling


"Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate." - Albert Schweitzer


"Don't wait for other people to be friendly, show them how" - Unknown Author


"If we should deal out justice only, in this world, who would escape?  No, it is better to be generous and in the end more profitable, for it gains gratitude for us and love." - Mark Twain


The best way to knock the chip of your neighbor's shoulder is to pat him on the back." - Author Unknown


"The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you." - John E. Southard


"Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival." - Dalai Lama


"Be kind to unkind people, they need it most." - Ashleigh Brilliant


"The kindest word in all the world is the unkind word unsaid." - Author Unknown


"Compassionate action involves working with ourselves as much as working with others." - Pema Chodron


"Kindness is in our power even when fondness is not." - Samuel Johnson


"Kindness, like a boomerang, always returns." - Author Unknown


"Love thy neighbor, and if it requires that you bend your understanding of the truth, the Truth will understand." - Robert Brault


"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a kind word, a smile, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." - Leo Buscaglia


"To err on the side of kindness is seldom an error." - Liz Armbuster


"The value of compassion cannot be over emphasized.  Anyone can criticize.  It takes a true believer to be compassionate.  No greater burden can be borne by an individual than to know no one cares or understands." - Arthur H. Stainback