Being More

“The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little to do with success as we have defined it.” ~ David Orr

I don't spend a lot of time on FB, mostly due to the fact that I work "late" & sleep early. By late, I mean arriving home around 7ish pm. I try my best to be in bed by 9 pm as I've got to wake up at 5 am, giving myself as close to 8 hours of sleep as possible. From 7 to 9 pm, I've got to have dinner, shower, let Ah Ton out, feed him & do a little bit of reading even if it means 1 page only. Even on non-working days, I find that I can barely keep my eyes open past 10 pm the latest. Similarly, I wake up naturally between 5 to 6 am no matter how I wish I can sleep in.

Despite that, I managed to come across this video & accompanying post about this man who verbally abused the taxi uncle who picked him up. Yep, internet trolling at its best. It reminds me once again how desperately we need more of people who are kind & hence this quote by David Orr came to mind. What comes out is a reflection of what's inside. Obviously, this guy is a very unhappy person. There's no hiding it. When you're happy, you exude happiness & are more tolerant of others. When you're unhappy, it expresses itself in speech & action. You're more likely to be critical & condescending when you're unhappy. Perhaps some people thrive on the feeling of superiority over others. But that only means that they feel inferior deep inside. 

It's really an egg & chicken question. Are you happy so you're kind or are you kind & therefore happy? I think you start with being kind. If you're kind becoz you're happy, then won't that mean that once the feeling of happiness dissipates, you'll be unkind in your words & actions once again? We all know that happiness is relative, nothing but a mirage. So how do we attain absolute happiness? It's an inner work & ultimately, tracing back to gratitude. Be thankful that you can see out of your eyes to take in the beautiful sights the world has to offer. Be thankful that your legs work fine so they can take you wherever you want to go. Be thankful that you're alive so you can help others in this journey call life. Let us start with being kind. It need not be some gigantic feat. Don't underestimate the power of words of encouragement. Sometimes, that's all it takes to change someone's life.

Credit: Quotes by Daisaku Ikeda taken from www.ikedaquotes.org.