A Year Of Kindness: Kindness Begets Expansive Vision

 One of the things that kindness will do for you, if you practice it enough, is expand your view of the world and God's creation.

The place I have found this to be most true for myself is in my relation to Nature.

I have also had a general respect for Nature. I tried not to burn things down growing up (let us be honest, young boys love fire).  I did not litter.  The fish that I caught with my maternal grandfather were always for eating.  

But I had my own not great side as well.  Stepping on snails and slugs.  Randomly ripping off leaves of plants  (mostly wildflowers) for no other reason than a nervous habit.

Being older and trying to be more consciously kind over the years has helped with that.

My fidgeting I have mostly learned to keep to myself now instead the need to strip something of leaves.  I will walk around the snails and slugs, perhaps picking up the snails and helping them across (not the slugs, of course; I merely wish them well).  I have now been known to rescue earthworms in our parking lot after the rain (maybe to a bird's maw of course, but at least that seems better than getting run over or drowned).

I have always had a respect for animals - we always had cats growing up and through my life, we have had dogs, hamsters, chickens, quail, a pony, guinea pigs and of course rabbits - but I find my relationship with them in general has become much deeper than before.  When The Ravishing Mrs. TB travels, I am far more likely to let A The Cat sleep with me, knowing that he is home alone during the day (although I will not sleep as well).  I am learning to read J The Rabbit's moods better as well.

I cannot point to one event in any of this and say "This has made me more kind".  But I can say that through learning to be kind, it has made me much more aware, which in itself enables kindness.

It seems that the kinder one is, the more one finds to be kind to.