See the good in others.
“Anyone can find the dirt on someone. Be the one who finds the gold.”
— Anonymous.
THE LOWDOWN
If you have been watching the news lately (like for the last week or... century) you might feel compelled to do one of these two things:
Curl into a very cozy and tiny ball and disappear.
Arm yourself with one big bad-ass machine gun and shoot anything that moves, starting with your Roomba cleaning robot.
Let us start by saying that none of those things are cool, on a Monday morning probably not even funny, and while the inclination and our natural propensity to focus on the bad stuff are understandable, we need to remember that what we see isn’t the whole picture. In reality, good deeds are the norm by a long shot, while evildoing is the exception. Sometimes we just need to remember to notice it.
This week we propose you actively pay attention and search (and find!) those acts of kindness and goodness between human beings.
WHY IS IT GOOD?
Research shows that our bodies react strongly when we witness an act of goodness, on the one hand we calm down and get a boost of activity in brain areas related to empathy and theory of mind, and on the other we get aroused and alert, ready for action. Scientists researching this feeling of “elevation” have only recently noticed its side effects: our own aspiration to become better human beings. So by looking for and noticing goodness in others:
your levels of compassion, love, peace, energy and playfulness increase,
you feel more connected to others,
you regain faith in humanity and recover some lost hope,
you are reminded of the goodness in yourself.
SOME IDEAS
You can discover goodness in others by:
Paying attention: when you’re out and about, actively notice people around you and look for kindness around you.
Setting an intention: Today I will focus on positive things in others. As simple as that.
Reminding yourself: if you catch yourself focusing on a negative aspect in someone, tell yourself something like: I’m seeing something negative. Can I see anything good about this person?
Rethinking labels: we tend to label ourselves and others very quickly, an oversimplification that separates more than connects. Try to find what unites us instead.
EXTRA BROWNIE POINTS
If someone else’s action inspires and compels you to do something kind, go ahead and do it!
Enjoy the search for goodness!
Vero and Enrique
Choose your rhythm.
Kensho Life
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