{"id":2023,"date":"2012-12-27T12:47:34","date_gmt":"2012-12-27T07:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/?p=2023"},"modified":"2012-12-27T12:47:34","modified_gmt":"2012-12-27T07:17:34","slug":"kindness-by-eshla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/kindness-by-eshla\/","title":{"rendered":"Kindness .. by Eshla"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s time to be nice. \u00a0Loosen those grumpy pants. \u00a0No need for them right now. \u00a0You can put them back on after January 1st.<\/p>\n

It’s time to be jolly, a friend jokingly says to me. \u00a0“I love this time of the year. \u00a0You know why? \u00a0Because everyone is happy, finally! \u00a0They’re finally out of their cranky moods and are nice to strangers even. \u00a0Just think.”<\/p>\n

Christmas has that effect. \u00a0At the holidays we have an epiphany and realize that we really should be nice to each other. \u00a0Shocking.<\/p>\n

I wonder though why year round we don’t have that desire, why we don’t notice those around us, why we don’t say hello to the stranger, and most of all why we don\u2019t even share those small acts of\u00a0kindness\u00a0with our loved ones. \u00a0But once a year, we plow through packed parking lots and a thicket of shoppers to get a trinket that will embody our\u00a0kindness\u00a0and love for a dear friend or family member.<\/p>\n

“My religion is very simple. \u00a0My religion is\u00a0kindness,” is what the Dalai Lama famously uttered. \u00a0And he said, “Be kind whenever possible. \u00a0It is\u00a0always\u00a0<\/em>possible.” \u00a0Now he has been quoted endlessly for this simple thought. \u00a0But it’s true. \u00a0It\u2019s always possible – not just every December. \u00a0Above the other paths we follow, be it religion, profession, vocation, we should consider\u00a0kindness.<\/p>\n

Even ancient thinkers such as Aristotle wrote of a selfless\u00a0kindness\u00a0that supersedes your needs for other\u2019s needs. \u00a0Nietzsche referred to\u00a0kindness, which is the premise of love, as one of the \u201cmost curative herbs and agents in human intercourse.\u201d \u00a0But, really this is not rocket science. \u00a0As we know\u00a0kindness\u00a0begets\u00a0kindness.<\/p>\n

And no, this is no hokey pokey Miss World speech. \u00a0But as many philosophical and spiritual texts tell us, the thoughts that we have form who we are: “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” \u00a0So kind thoughts form a more empathetic soul.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s imperative: for us to be happy spirits and live in a community that works, that\u2019s interlinked. \u00a0Those kind souls then look at the world with a different lens: they are more gentle towards the earth, towards their bodies, and towards those around them.<\/p>\n

The grudges that we hold year-round, the frustrations that eat us and fray our hairs into gray strands, the disputes that we refuse to compromise on, the situations that we resist to look at from another angle – \u00a0they all eat away that\u00a0kindness. \u00a0Yet, the only thing that can diffuse them is\u00a0kindness.<\/p>\n

As I smacked golf balls on the range last week for the first time (an exercise largely to amuse myself and my instructor), my instructor said something simple but kind: “We’re all fragile.” \u00a0Hence, a dose of\u00a0kindness\u00a0is essential, not just the polite thing to do it.\u00a0 Or as Plato wrote, \u201cBe kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the horrific incident in Newton earlier this week, NBC journalist Ann Curry threw out this idea\u00a0– why not we counter the sad and ruthless event with acts ofkindness. \u00a0\u00a0Quickly the message spread on Twitter and a new hashtag was eating up the Twitter feed: #26Acts. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And folks on Twitter began sharing kind ideas. \u00a0\u00a0Since Sunday, almost 200,000 messages about this wave of goodwill have appeared on social media, coming from places far as Afghanistan, Russia, and Finland.\u00a0 Words translated into action, smacking down barriers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kindness\u00a0echoes, unites, forgives, pacifies, and nurtures.\u00a0 It\u2019s a rather universal medicine not just for others but for ourselves.\u00a0 It reminds us that we\u2019re part of something bigger.\u00a0 The key is to be kind at the core, not just on the surface.\u00a0 Empty words of\u00a0kindness\u00a0are about as nice as stale fruitcake.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, consider retiring those grumpy pants this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s time to be nice. \u00a0Loosen those grumpy pants. \u00a0No need for them right now. \u00a0You can put them back on after January 1st. It’s time to be jolly, a friend jokingly says to me. \u00a0“I love this time of the year. \u00a0You know why? \u00a0Because everyone is happy, finally! \u00a0They’re finally out of their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nKindness .. by Eshla - Shekhar Kapur<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/kindness-by-eshla\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kindness .. by Eshla - Shekhar Kapur\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s time to be nice. \u00a0Loosen those grumpy pants. \u00a0No need for them right now. \u00a0You can put them back on after January 1st. It’s time to be jolly, a friend jokingly says to me. \u00a0“I love this time of the year. \u00a0You know why? \u00a0Because everyone is happy, finally! \u00a0They’re finally out of their […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/kindness-by-eshla\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shekhar Kapur\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-12-27T07:17:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"shekhar\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"shekhar\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/kindness-by-eshla\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/kindness-by-eshla\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"shekhar\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/16ccb2f9fc537e6b2e3f9c66553791a6\"},\"headline\":\"Kindness .. by Eshla\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-27T07:17:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/kindness-by-eshla\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":659,\"commentCount\":13,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/kindness-by-eshla\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/kindness-by-eshla\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/kindness-by-eshla\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kindness .. by Eshla - Shekhar Kapur\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-27T07:17:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/16ccb2f9fc537e6b2e3f9c66553791a6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/kindness-by-eshla\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/kindness-by-eshla\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/kindness-by-eshla\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kindness .. by Eshla\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Shekhar Kapur\",\"description\":\"I exist because you imagine I do\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/16ccb2f9fc537e6b2e3f9c66553791a6\",\"name\":\"shekhar\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d405951f0d7e98022349b518c83461ff64706ab932df335f2db686aaee7ff67d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d405951f0d7e98022349b518c83461ff64706ab932df335f2db686aaee7ff67d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d405951f0d7e98022349b518c83461ff64706ab932df335f2db686aaee7ff67d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"shekhar\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/admin\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/shekharkapur.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/shekhar\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kindness .. by Eshla - Shekhar Kapur","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/kindness-by-eshla\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kindness .. by Eshla - Shekhar Kapur","og_description":"It’s time to be nice. \u00a0Loosen those grumpy pants. \u00a0No need for them right now. \u00a0You can put them back on after January 1st. It’s time to be jolly, a friend jokingly says to me. \u00a0“I love this time of the year. \u00a0You know why? \u00a0Because everyone is happy, finally! \u00a0They’re finally out of their […]","og_url":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/kindness-by-eshla\/","og_site_name":"Shekhar Kapur","article_published_time":"2012-12-27T07:17:34+00:00","author":"shekhar","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"shekhar","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/kindness-by-eshla\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/kindness-by-eshla\/"},"author":{"name":"shekhar","@id":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/16ccb2f9fc537e6b2e3f9c66553791a6"},"headline":"Kindness .. by Eshla","datePublished":"2012-12-27T07:17:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/kindness-by-eshla\/"},"wordCount":659,"commentCount":13,"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/kindness-by-eshla\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/kindness-by-eshla\/","url":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/kindness-by-eshla\/","name":"Kindness .. by Eshla - Shekhar Kapur","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-12-27T07:17:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/16ccb2f9fc537e6b2e3f9c66553791a6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/kindness-by-eshla\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/kindness-by-eshla\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/kindness-by-eshla\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kindness .. by Eshla"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/","name":"Shekhar Kapur","description":"I exist because you imagine I do","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/16ccb2f9fc537e6b2e3f9c66553791a6","name":"shekhar","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d405951f0d7e98022349b518c83461ff64706ab932df335f2db686aaee7ff67d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d405951f0d7e98022349b518c83461ff64706ab932df335f2db686aaee7ff67d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d405951f0d7e98022349b518c83461ff64706ab932df335f2db686aaee7ff67d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"shekhar"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/admin"],"url":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/author\/shekhar\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2023"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2025,"href":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2023\/revisions\/2025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shekharkapur.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}