Be Kind to Be Happy?

 

Don't be kind to be happier; be happy so you can be kinder.  The goal is serving Life and one another, not waiting and manipulating life and others so we are served. Loving kindness is who we are. 

Me....

I am realizing this after decades of asking "What can I do or get from Life to be happy?" 

I learnt, along the path, that kindness and putting others first can make one happy. Hmm! 

"I'll try that..." I said. 

I mean, I believe I was always naturally kind, not so much to myself but to others. I was, however, over run by my own pain and that often got in the way of this natural inclination to kindness especially to myself. I was distracted from being this naturally kind being that we all are..... by my programming, by the challenging external events that were perceived by this human as punishments, and by this experience of personal suffering. 

I knew I needed to heal. I heard that kindness would help me to heal.  So, I began to practice kindness for a "selfish" reason.  My meditation practice went into building these compassion muscles. I began to practice Tonglen.  

That is when the focus started to change.  It gradually went from being kind so I could be happy...(and it did make me happier); to seeing that happiness wasn't the goal...kindness was, serving others was, serving Life was....

Love is not something we do.  It is who we are. Loving kindness brings us back to Self, and when we are there we can be nothing but peaceful, and joyful. 

Hmmm! 

By all means practice kindness so you feel happier but know that such a practice will eventually turn our understanding back to truth. Loving kindness is who we are, not what we do. Kindness is the goal.

All is well!