By Nancy Rynes, author of Awakenings from the Light
In last month's article, I shared a story of a reader whose small act of kindness made a waitress cry. This month, I'm introducing you to Tucson, Arizona, resident Alexia Serna.
Alexia is ten years old but she has so much compassion for others that her actions are well beyond her years. Alexia likes to volunteer at a local homeless shelter, giving meals to those who otherwise wouldn't have any. She has also donated funds to help those afflicted with cancer, and even saved up money to buy a wig for her grandmother, who has terminal cancer.
I love Alexia's attitude, "You should just treat others the way you want to be treated and help others if they’re going through a hard time." I absolutely agree!
Such a simple statement, but it seems to be so rare these days...or is it? If I were to guess, I would say that people are just as kind as they have always been but our news media simply isn't telling us about them. Why? They're not "newsworthy" enough. What makes the news these days? Sensationalist reports of disasters, crime, politics, and other feel-bad events. A story is especially newsworthy if it induces strong emotions such as fear or anger.
Now you know why I avoid TV and radio news like the plague.
And as 2018 draws to a close, I want to take a moment to wish you all peace, love, abundant blessings, and joy. Thank you all for continuing to share this journey with me. I love and appreciate each one of you
Blessings,
Nancy
In last month's article, I shared a story of a reader whose small act of kindness made a waitress cry. This month, I'm introducing you to Tucson, Arizona, resident Alexia Serna.
Alexia is ten years old but she has so much compassion for others that her actions are well beyond her years. Alexia likes to volunteer at a local homeless shelter, giving meals to those who otherwise wouldn't have any. She has also donated funds to help those afflicted with cancer, and even saved up money to buy a wig for her grandmother, who has terminal cancer.
I love Alexia's attitude, "You should just treat others the way you want to be treated and help others if they’re going through a hard time." I absolutely agree!
Such a simple statement, but it seems to be so rare these days...or is it? If I were to guess, I would say that people are just as kind as they have always been but our news media simply isn't telling us about them. Why? They're not "newsworthy" enough. What makes the news these days? Sensationalist reports of disasters, crime, politics, and other feel-bad events. A story is especially newsworthy if it induces strong emotions such as fear or anger.
Now you know why I avoid TV and radio news like the plague.
Researchers at Dartmouth College have found that being kind to others can increase:
- Levels of oxytocin, the loving, bonding hormone that helps us feel connections with others
- Energy levels: we get what's called a "helper's high" by being kind
- Levels of happiness: we feel happier the more we act in kind ways toward others
- Levels of serotonin, another feel-good hormone that keeps you calm and happy
In other words, being kind to others helps you feel good.
But why should being kind make you feel good?
There's not a lot of talk about the why in these reports but if I were to guess, scientists might say, "Humans evolved to be kind because kindness would have helped our tribal ancestors survive. If a tribe consisted of a lot of individuals willing to help each other out, the tribe would be more likely to survive and so would its members."
That makes sense from a purely materialist perspective, but I think it's more than just physical survival.
We know that everything in this universe isn't simply made of "stuff." It is all energy at its core, including our souls (or higher consciousness/higher selves). All of the energy of the universe is also connected to, and held together by, Divine love. Of course this means our bodies and souls too. I contend that we're "hardwired" to be kind at the level of our souls because of that enduring connection to Divine love. We ARE love at the level of our souls, and we're connected to the larger universe of Divine love. Our souls exist at this level and, I believe, simply share that love as much as possible because that's what love does.
Making a conscious decision to be kind (and following through) then strengthens the field of love around us. We are choosing to be love. This then raises the energy-state of our bodies because we're essentially bathing it in love and compassion. The reward to our bodies of being bathed in this love is increased well-being.
An interesting thing that these researchers noted is that even simply witnessing someone else being kind has a similar effect on the watcher as the act of kindness itself has on the person being kind. In other words, if you see someone acting compassionately, you're going to get a boost to your happiness levels too! Why in the world would this happen?
Think about it from a spiritual perspective: kindness is an action that is fueled by altruistic love. It's love in action. As I learned during my NDE, acting in loving ways strengthens the field of Divine love around us, so maybe that's it: we're feeling a spiritual echo of that now-stronger field of love. But maybe it's more. Perhaps when we witness kindness we have a brief, soul-level remembering of being a part of that Divine love before our birth. We're having a mini-flashback of being in the light ourselves. Whatever the full explanation, everyone witnessing an act of kindness is having his or her energy raised by that one act of kindness, too.
It still amazes me that kindness is so simple, yet can have such a powerful effect on so many.
Are you fired up now to get out there and share some kindness? I hope so, but remember to be kind to yourself too. You deserve the same level of love and compassion you show to others, so give yourself a break and take a moment to be kind to yourself.
Some ideas for doing that include:
- Going for a walk with a good friend
- Eating a healthy breakfast
- Take time to really enjoy a morning mug of tea or coffee
- Spend time with your friends...either two- or four-legged
- Make more time for sleep
- Dance to your favorite music
- Re-read your favorite book
- Pause and enjoy a beautiful scene such as a sunset
- Laugh more
Blessings,
Nancy
Stuff You Might Have Missed
**Nancy on NBC's TODAY Show**
Archive: Past Newsletter Issues
Article: Lives Changed by NDEs (Boulder Daily Camera)
Article: Awakening to Life (Pages 6-10, Journal of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology, Summer 2016)
Article: The Meaning of Life
Article: The Things I Learned from Dying
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Bio: Nancy Rynes is a speaker, artist, and author of "Awakenings from the Light" (available from Amazon.com). Nancy's books and workshops teach you how to bring a little bit of Heaven to your life on Earth. She divides her time between Seattle, Washington and Tucson, AZ. Check out her website at NancyRynes.com
Copyright © 2018 Nancy Rynes, All rights reserved.