Compassion @ Mary Southard. Ministry of the Arts. Used with Permission. https://www.ministryofthearts.org/art/compassion/

​A Kinder, Gentler World 
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springboards for reflection on

​Kind People, Kind Cities, Kind Traditions,
Kind Religion, and a Kinder World
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​​Some people mistakenly equate success with making a lot of money. True success is kindness. The sages tell us that there's more value in a single act of kindness than in a billion dollars in the bank. What if cities and nations organized themselves around kindness as their goal?  What if we measured our well-being in terms of gross national kindness? This page offers springboards for considering the possibility, building upon the work of the Charter for Compassion and the Global Compassion Movement. Use it as a resource for your own reflections.

Compassionate (Kind) Cities
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 Kindness and the Web of Life
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"The world is like a great spider web—minus the spider. Or rather, including the spider, as even the tiniest of creatures are card-carrying members of our silky, web-like world. This lacy, cosmic extravagance in which we all find ourselves can be explained with elaborate cosmological or scientific models, but the spider web is all we really need to stir our imagination.

As a theologian, I believe the spider web is the perfect image for understanding process theology, a spiritual path built on the idea of a web-like universe where every small gesture of kindness sets the whole world atremble. The silken threads that connect us are awash with possibility after possibility for tremors of love and beauty to ripple across the universe.

In this great web—so delicate and sensitive and made of divine materials—we find our meaning and purpose. Bathed in such a vast belonging, we move about with care, not only for ourselves, but for every filigreed corner of our intricately woven existence. This precious web, both beautiful and treacherous, needs our attention and our nurture. Most of all, it needs small gestures of kindness."

​- Patricia Adams Farmer

Ripples of Kindness 

​Shared Kindness 

One of the most important ideas in process thought is Whitehead’s idea of “subjective forms.”  These are emotional qualities that permeate or clothe our experiences of the world. Examples include tenderness, rage, confusion, hope, anxiety, love, fear, wonder, loathing, and kindness.

These forms, these emotions, can be shared. When you are in the presence of someone who is very anxious, you feel that person’s anxious and partake of it ever so slightly.  You may resist it, but you feel it.  Anxiety and other subjective forms are not self-contained liquids in a bottle; instead, flow between people, like gases in a room. We inhale and exhale them all the time. They are as "real" in their way as are objective forms such as roundness and squareness, solidity and liquidity. 

Indeed, a subjective form can begin to have a life of its own, permeating the spirit of a group. You walk into a room filled with angry people, and you feel the collective anger. The anger has become an emotional climate that permeates the room. Go to a political rally and you will feel it as people denounce “the other side.”

We live in a world all too filled with angry people who loathe “the other side.” The spirit of anger, of loathing, is promulgated by media figures, politicians, bigots, and a host of others. The loathing is poisonous; it kills the soul and often leads to violence.

The antidote to this hatred is a fervent commitment to kindness, undertaken not only by individuals but also by communities and nations. This is why the compassionate city initiative initiated by the Charter for Compassion (see below) is so important. It invites cities, and not just individuals, to live from kindness and enact that kindness in practical ways.

The purpose of this page above above and below, is to offer springboards for thought on kindness or compassion that lend support to such an initiative socially, religiously, and practically.

- Jay McDaniel, 4/24/22

​Kindness and Spirituality

one of thirty-seven qualities of heart and mind
that make for that make for a whole person
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Divine Kindness: A Climate
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"GRACE IS ONE OF THE MOST MAJESTIC WORDS IN THEOLOGY. IT suggests the sublime spontaneity of the divine which no theory or category could ever capture. Grace has its own elegance. It is above the mechanics of agenda or operation. No-one can set limits to the flow of grace. Its presence and force remain unmeasurable and unpredictable. Grace also suggests how fluent and seamless the divine presence is. There are no compartments, corners or breakages imaginable in the flow of grace. Grace is the permanent climate of divine kindness. It suggests a compassion and understanding for all the ambivalent and contradictory dimensions of the human experience and pain. This climate of kindness nurtures the sore landscape of the human heart and urges torn ground to heal and become fecund. Grace is the perennial infusion of springtime into the winter of bleakness."

- John O'Donohue, Divine Beauty: The Invisible Embrace

Kindness and Generosity

"Kindness is the first of the three great treasures advocated by Lao Tzu. The Buddha taught that generosity is a primary quality of an awakened mind. Muhammad regarded kindness as an essential sign of faith. Jewish and Christian ethics are built upon deeds of kindness, as are the daily interactions of people of primal traditions.

The spiritual practice of kindness encompasses a range of small acts and habits that we know as old-fashioned good manners — saying "please" and "thank you," waiting your turn, lending a helping hand, or cheering someone up with a smile. It applies not just to your relationships with other people. Etiquette in the spiritual life extends to things, animals, plants, and the Earth.

This practice also means being generous with your presence, your time, and your money. Give freely without expecting anything in return. Just do it. Kindness is not a quid pro quo endeavor."

- Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

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​Kindness as a Blessing 

Rabbi Bradley Artson  
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Kindness and Customs
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Four Countries with ​
​Traditions of Kindness

​excerpts from the BBC

Four Countries with Traditions of Kindness

"Acts of kindness have come to define the coronavirus pandemic, whether that’s tales of Italians singing in unison on their balconies or communities applauding the medical professionals on the frontline. These stories have the ability to make us feel that we’re bigger than just this crisis, and that together we can overcome our fears.

That’s why BBC Travel is celebrating those places around the world that already have a long tradition of generosity and helping one another. From the ancient Greek concept of hospitality to the Persian poets espousing kindness, these traditions will shine a light on the goodness that already exists across the planet, as well as give us new ideas of how to live our best lives going forward....more

Philoxenia, Greece

In Ancient Greece, the proper provision of hospitality was considered a commandment of the gods, specifically Zeus Xenios, the god of foreigners or strangers. Should a weary traveller arrive on one’s doorstep, the host was obliged to welcome them with food and shelter before asking any questions, whether they knew the guest or not. In return, the guest was obliged to show respect to the host via gestures such as staying only as long as necessary. For either party to fail in their obligation was considered an offense worthy of Zeus Xenios’ divine wrath....In Ancient Greece, the proper provision of hospitality was considered a commandment of the gods, specifically Zeus Xenios, the god of foreigners or strangers. Should a weary traveller arrive on one’s doorstep, the host was obliged to welcome them with food and shelter before asking any questions, whether they knew the guest or not. In return, the guest was obliged to show respect to the host via gestures such as staying only as long as necessary. For either party to fail in their obligation was considered an offense worthy of Zeus Xenios’ divine wrath...more

Taarof, Iran

The first snows don’t tend to fall in Mashhad, tucked up in the mountains of north-east Iran, until January, but by December, the nation’s second-largest city is already in the icy grip of winter. Reportedly out of concern for the city’s sizeable homeless population, an anonymous local took to the streets in December 2015, painting a wall in bright colours and installing pegs and hangers. Beside it, a painted message in Farsi read: “If you don’t need it, leave it. If you need it, take it.”...more

Ubuntu, South Africa

​The word comes from the Nguni languages spoken by some of Africa’s first peoples, but ubuntu didn’t appear in written sources until the mid-19th Century, rising to prominence in the midst of South Africa’s transition from the apartheid regime to a democracy that included all races. While definitions of ubuntu have varied over the years, the Nguni proverb “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” (often translated as “a person is a person through other persons”) is most commonly used to describe the concept.

Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as a human being in isolationIn practice, ubuntu is a belief that the common bonds of a group are more important than the divisions within it. As Nelson Mandela once wrote, ubuntu is, “The profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others; that if we are to accomplish anything in this world, it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievements of others.” In South Africa, the philosophy manifests in displays of kindness and compassion, particularly towards people of different cultural backgrounds....more

Omotenashi, Japan

Often described as the world’s most polite country, Japan’s tradition of selfless hospitality is the product of a tradition known as omotenashi. Literally translating to “spirit of service”, this cornerstone of Japanese culture is grounded in the centuries-old ritual of the sado (tea ceremony), which requires a high degree of attentiveness on the host’s behalf to ensure their guests’ every need is fulfilled, without expecting anything in return. The guests, conscious of the host’s efforts, respond by showing an almost reverential gratitude. Both parties thus create an environment of harmony and respect....more

- all material from the BBC, Radio 4 Website: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200412-four-countries-with-a-tradition-of-kindness

The Roots of Kindness

Global Kindness

How to Cultivate Global Compassion

JS: What do you hope people will take away from the book?

​PE: The book is really a call to researchers. I hope they will say, God, this is important! We need to find out more about distal compassion now and to get more programs that are going to encourage more kindness and compassion in our children. Children are the hope for the future. The earlier you can get to them and provide them with teaching materials they’ll find exciting and that will encourage compassion on their part, the better off the world will be.

- interview with Paul Ekman by Jill Suttie in Greater Good Magazine, 2016