Kindness Is the Key To Health And Happiness

It is clear that truth and justice are driving principals of our lives, but what about kindness? I was recently on the X Prize Advisory Committee to design a prize in health. I shared my view that 'kindness' is likely the most important facet of health and happiness to a highly distinguished group of health scientists. Later, I heard from one of those scientists told me that my opinion sounded "really odd."

I've studied genetics and human behavior for over 20 years. At one time I thought genetics held all the answers to make the world a better place by enabling us to 'fix' our genetic mutations and reduce disease and suffering. Now I see that genetics is extremely important, but for another reason: Genetics may be the best tool to provide a rationale for including kindness as a guiding principle to govern our day-to-day behaviors as well as government and institutes in general. Clearly, the thesis that we are 'all created equal' is evident in our genomes; we differ so minutely from one another. If we recognize fully that we are truly a single human family, taking it to the extreme, one could view the whole human species as a single human 'organism' based on our shared DNA. Through our shared genomes, we can see that to reduce suffering, to remove harm toward any of our members, is equivalent to removing harm toward ourselves.

When this dependent nature is brought into our global consciousness, kindness among members of our global family will be selected over behaviors that harm another. When kindness is a guiding principal, hurting another - whether human, animal, or the earth, will not be easy. When kindness is taught as equal to truth and justice, in our school systems, our homes, and when it perpetuates our social and governmental systems, the world will likely be a kinder place.

What is kindness, the quality of being kind? "Kind" according to Webster's means:

1. A fundamental nature or quality,
2) loving qualities or a helpful nature

Humankind, our species, has the capacity to see kindness as a fundamental quality that we chose to nourish, that we chose to make as the quality that defines us.

We can chose to act according to its principles, even if we do not 'feel' loving at times. We have reason by which to overcome our emotions, we can use reason guided by the principles of kindness, to act, make decisions, and treat one another, ourselves, and the planet.

Kindness can be a guiding principal if we all realize that we each have the capacity for good and evil. We each have the capacity to make poor choices, to harm another, to allow that harm to escalate into evil. Most of us catch it when very small and correct it or adjust it to move along a different route. Kindness can guide us when we recognize our shared capacity for both good and evil, and we chose accordingly. My colleague calls this 'compassionate decision-making', decision-making governed by the principal of kindness, acting to help others, to alleviate suffering.

What would the world be like if it were one where kindness was its guiding principle? War would not be an answer to anything, period. We would protect the planet, animals on it, and each other at all costs. Genocide would not happen. Competition would be part of 'game-playing', where the rules of the game are to keep everyone in and keep the game going, 'winners and losers' would be more like as in a checkers match, for fun.

If kindness were a guiding principle, we would likely be a happier nation. Science reveals that compassion (toward self and others) is a key tool for happiness. Compassion is strengthened when individuals recognize their similarities, learn to connect with their own kindness or loving qualities, and learn how to be present, regardless of the intensity of a situation (good or bad). Perhaps shifting our attention to the role of Kindness in our everyday actions and elevating it to a guiding principal in our lives and work, is a start to bringing it to positions of leadership.

So kindness is an antidote to pain and suffering, and needs our increased attention. I think the best X Prize we could design would be one to increase kindness. A competition, a game, where everyone wins.

Comments

[peonyharp]

"Compassion is strengthened when individuals recognize their similarities, learn to connect with their own kindness or loving qualities, and learn how to be present, regardless of the intensity of a situation (good or bad)."

Precisely.

"May we be free of torture, may there be peace in hearts and minds as our kindness spreads around the world." -- Buddhist monks revolt against military junta in Burma.

Please -- Remember Burma.

[Vajara]

Excellent post. Yes, it is no accident that we call the study of things, equations, math,etc. and other aspects of life--a 'hard science." It is often cold and calculating; however, using calculus is a nutural tool, I think.

Anyway, being kind is what our planet needs today as we are poisoning her and have damaged her to almost oblivian. Being kind is part of our true nature and children really do understand this as they learn about nature and their pets. We adults, on the other hand, use them for sport and for competition. Btw, humans are the only creatures in competition with nature and as Frietjof Capra and Oscar Icazo remind us, and I am paraphrasing: What we really observe about natue is that everything is in total cooperation and interaction. Only humans behave as predators and make it's case by justifying "survival of the fittest." We survive on this planet if we remain fit and support our nest, not destroy it because it gives us pleasure and sport.

I agree, let's be kind and conscious human beings as our true nature would have us.

[johnnyhempseed]

Susan ,Sweet post!I believe kindness can make us all skinny too.And Wiredwilly,when you return from the collective causal mind,kindly send me some of what your smoking!Great comment!That Universal internet is already healing my brain damage at the sub-atomic level, how kind of the cosmos! peace out and in

[mgh234]

just because we wish something to be true, doesn't make it so...please keep that in mind

[Cowtippin]

We have lost our bearing as a whole. Case in point. everything you say and do offends someone. This is what happens when cultures collide. Be kind to your fellow man even if you can't stand the son of bitch.

[fumes]

be kind to one another~vote for ron paul!

[Bulbul]

Key to happiness is kindness, compassion, and be non judgemental, few of many things Dalai Lama tries to teach us. The third factor is hard to achive but I will keep on trying. The other factor I may add, is to learn not to be greedy !
There is still hope, one is never too old to learn.

[Wiredwilly]

Buddha called it interdependent origination. Kindness has the ability to heal because for a moment you dissolve into the totality of the Universe and transcend self, which is by definition separate from everything else in the Universe. Therefore, the collective intelligence of the Cosmos which exists in the past, present, and future, is there to assist you. Somewhat like a computer realizing it can plug into the Internet and download a program to fix software glitches. This Universal Internet already has the answers that we seek because apparently it programmed the genetic software in the first place. It's actually a translogical paradox, but that's a reality of a different color.
Healing occurs on the sub-atomic level and then moves upward toward the visible. Mind can indeed effect the quantum level of reality, however the effect is usually similar to putting a drop of water into the Pacific Ocean.
We need to increase the doseage of kindness.
In other words, practice compassion as if it were a violin.
Assuming Nanotechnology can ultimately restructure flaws in the configurations of DNA so that everything works perfectly and we become eternally healthy and relatively immortal, you still have the question, then what ?
Being immortal is somewhat of a drag if you're insane.
Hence, the quest for enlightenment.
The point seems to be a metamorphosis into Love.
Both Christ & Buddha seem to have been shooting fireworks
from metaphysical rooftops to illustrate that the answer is Love and Compassion.
Kindness IS the Key to health & happiness.

[jmrozendaal]

I love this post, it resonates with me as I've been thinking a lot about kindness lately.

It does not surprise me at all to learn that "health scientists" find this way of thought "odd".