inspiration
It started
Rules
with love.
for
Why not end it
Kindness
the same way?
by Sharon Salzberg
Lady
4
Justice PLLC
I
w
as leading a meditation group in the Washington, D.C.
area, and we had rented an elementary school auditorium
for the day. All along the walls of the corridors were posted
rules for being kind. During the breaks in the day, I would just
“Mindy Hitchcock handled what is a very diffi cult situation with
stand and read them, again and again.
beauty. Her approach works because she combines excellent The rules posted there rest upon principles like dissolving
preparation with a sincere interest in taking the highest road.”
the rigid boundaries we hold between ourselves and others, in-
cluding rather than excluding, recognizing that our actions and D.M., Bloomfi eld Hills, Michigan
words are consequential, and being thoughtful. They seemed
LADY4JUSTICE PLLC - Family Law Specialists
so simple, yet like many simple truths, if we were to live them,
$ J W J D $ F O U F S % S J W F
4 V J U F t 4 P V U I F M E
. J D I J H B O
rather than merely admire them, they could change our life,
t X X X M B E Z K V T U J D F D P N
whatever our age.
DIVORCE t CUSTODY t 1 " 3 & / 5 * / ( 5 * . & t SUPPORT Carderock Elementary School
Rules for Being Kind
• Treat people the way you would like to
be treated.
• Play fair.
5 F D I O P M P H J F T G P S * O O F S 8 F M M C F J O H
• Respect everyone—other students and all staff.
• Everyone can play.
% B Z 1 S P H S B N
• Help others when they need help.
X J U I 4 B E I H V S V
• Don’t hurt others on the inside or the outside.
" O J O W F T U N F O U U I B U
• Honor all of the pillars of ethics.
X J M M J N Q B D U Z P V S M J G F
One of the most provocative and poignant of these rules
“This is not about being
superhuman, this is about
for me was “everyone can play.” As I practiced this tenet, I
realizing that being
noticed more hints of loneliness in those I encountered than I
human is super”
had seen before, more subtle echoes of that forlorn child than I
- Sadhguru expected. Including others was often like watching something
unfurl and begin to fl ower. In making a point of including oth-
: P V X J M M U B L F I P N F B N J O V U F Q S B D U J D F U I B U X J M M I F M Q
ers in conversation, with real regard, in a fullness of attention,
Z P V V Q M J G U B O E T V D D F T T G V M M Z N B O B H F Z P V S F W F S Z E B Z M J G F I felt some subtle walls within me dissolve, as well. There was
G P S U I F S F T U P G Z P V S M J G F
a growing sense of rightness, of balance, because after all,
" Q S J M
) F M M F O J D $ V M U V S B M $ F O U F S 8 F T U M B O E
everyone should get to play.
Each of us will do well to experiment with these rules,
8 F F L E B Z T Q N Q N 4 B U 4 V O B N Q N perhaps one a week or one a month, to emphasize them. Even
if you already live your life according to these tenets, con-
$ P T U P G Q S P H S B N
sciously choosing to focus on them can be enlivening, opening
% J T D P V O U F E F B S M Z S F H J T U S B U J P O D P T U V O U J M
and, at times, surprising.
4 D I P M B S T I J Q T B O E E J T D P V O U T B S F B M T P C F J O H P � F S F E
X X X * T I B : P H B P S H
$ P O U B D U * 4 ) "
P S
& N B J M E F U S P J U ! J T I B G P V O E B U J P O P S H
Adapted excerpt from The Kindness Handbook by Sharon Salz-
berg. Connect at
SharonSalzberg.com.
36 Oakland, Macomb, Livingston & St. Clair, MI
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