Kindness

Kindness:

Kindness is love in its everyday clothing, a gentle attentiveness that sees another’s humanity and responds with care. The growth of kindness (meekness) opens us to the continual awareness of God’s presence and of everyone with their limitations.

–from Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit, Thomas Keating

A Simple Breath-Prayer of Kindness

Below is a breath prayer I learned a while ago and continue to find it a practice of deep nourishment. It lets us inhale the life essence of a Fruit, and then exhale it into the atmosphere around us.

• Take a few gentle breaths and relax your thoughts, your emotions, and any tension in your body.

• Breathe in kindness. Allow its energy and presence to fill you. Let this spiritual nutrient into your physical being, as well as your spirit and soul.

• As you breathe in kindness, feel it nourishing you and feeding you.

• Then breathe out kindness, letting it fill the atmosphere around you. Feel yourself sharing that goodness with all that is around you.

• Repeat this for several breaths, letting yourself be nourished by kindness while simultaneously nourishing the world. When you’re ready, rest in stillness for a few moments before returning to your day.

When we breathe in kindness, we remember we’re held by Divine Kindness; when we breathe it out, we become a conduit of that same grace.