To be kind - Hermann Hesse & Maslow

To hold our tongues when everyone is gossiping,
to smile without hostility at people and institutions,
to compensate for the shortage of love in the world
with more love in small, private matters; to show
greater patience, to forgo the cheap revenge
attainable from mockery and criticism:
all these things we can do.

Hermann Hesse

~

Let people realize clearly that every time they threaten
someone or humiliate or unnecessarily hurt or dominate
or reject another human being, they become forces for
the creation of pathology, even if these be small forces.
Let them recognize that every person who is kind, helpful,
decent, affectionate, and warm, is a therapeutic force...

Abraham Maslow

~

Compassion is knowing that
you are part of everyone,
and everyone is part of you - is you.
When seeing this there is no longer judgment,
just a deeper understanding and respect
for our humanity -
a deepening of compassion.

Mystic Meandering
Meditative writings
c. 2004 - 2006