How To Defeat Evil With Kindness
Last week, we talked about the importance of being kind to others even when we receive nothing in return. Today, we will discuss being kind even to the most despicable people.
One of the most frustrating things about life is that, no matter how kind we are to certain people, they refuse to abandon their ways of bitterness, cruelty, and foolishness:
- Narcissistic partners refuse to love anyone other than themselves
- Abusive bosses treat employees like servants
- Addicts return over and over to the substances that ruin their lives
- Lazy people accept charity but refuse to contribute to the world around them
Early on in the journey of philosophy, the actions of these ignorant people frustrate us. Can’t they see how much better their lives –– and the whole world! –– would be if they simply got their act together?
Eventually, we learn that the actions of fools –– both the harmless and the violently savage –– are simply additional tests for us in the forge of life as we slowly become good steel.
The actions of spiteful people provide us the opportunity to “test our mettle,” not against others, but against ourselves. These are the moments that reveal the strength of our character –– specifically, of our kindness.
Quote Of The Week
“Kindness is invincible, if it is sincere, not fawning or pretense. What can the most aggressive man do to you if you continue to be kind to him?” – Marcus Aurelius
Become The Wind Of Change
Kindness is like wind, which does not stop blowing when it is ignored. Instead, it persists endlessly in its efforts until it runs out of energy.
This temperament is shared by the genuinely kind person. They radiate kindness everywhere they go, no matter how much resistance they encounter. This idea is no better witnessed than in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
King’s commitment to kindness amplified his message in a way that unbridled anger never could, because people across the globe saw exactly what hope, forgiveness, and love looked like under adversity.
Like a tremendous wind, the non-violent and loving efforts of Dr. King pummeled relentlessly against his opposition until finally, the pressure to change was so great that it overwhelmed the resistance and transformed an entire nation.
Did his kindness save his life? Tragically, no, it did not. But the people moved by his actions changed their behavior, and the world got a little bit better, all thanks to the loving kindness of one man.
There is no greater bravery than kindness that persists like wind, giving away its energy in pursuit of change. Become that wind.
Question Of The Week
Have you ever witnessed an act of kindness that changed your perspective on what it means to love your neighbor as yourself?
Live On Purpose // Die Without Regrets
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