According to the latest scientific studies, kindness promotes longevity and modify certain DNA structures. If you want to become an Ambassador of Kindness, follow just these 3 simple daily actions.
In a world where kind people are very often ridiculed because they are categorized as submissive, fragile or even considered as lacking in personality, there is now a study that confirms what Khalil Gibran, one of the greatest Yogis, always stressed, namely that: "The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the greatest of intentions."
Especially today, amidst Covid19, deep international economic crises and wars multiplying everywhere, it is becoming a real rarity to meet sincerely kind people.
"Words have the power to destroy and to create. When words are both true and kind they can change the world".
(Buddha)
But why should we then focus on kindness, given the poor results we often receive from others?
First of all, it is interesting to know that science has been studying kindness and its powerful effects on body and mind for many years. It would seem that in addition to environmental factors, a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle, it is kindness that determines a person's quality of life and longevity. Being kind is good for us. In a simple and natural way.
Is it more effective to be strong or to be kind?
But some will then ask whether that famous law of the strongest, theorized more than a century ago by Darwin, is still valid today; and whether at the same time being kind in a competitive and adversarial world can be truly effective. These are all important questions, which need to be discussed at length but which we will not go into now, because it is important to understand first of all what the real power of kindness is.
First of all, when we receive a kind gesture or send it to someone, it opens up an emotional involvement, a mixture of love, compassion, gratitude and optimism that requires nothing in return except the well-being of the other person. It is a real action of profound change of the being, in fact, and that also affects the other, who is infected by it.
Therefore, in a world that is constantly evolving, science too has for some time now been revising the theory of the 'strongest', turning its attention towards a new type of man and woman, capable of interpreting the overall picture of modernity, in a non-competitive manner and adapting their vision to the new reality in progress, while always maintaining a kind and optimistic attitude towards themselves and their neighbours. These individuals, whom we could call "the new common heroes", are fortunately on the increase and, contrary to those who think that being kind is synonymous with weakness, they are the tangible proof of the extraordinary implicit strength that lies behind kindness, and that concretely changes the quality of relationships and improves the world we live in.
The first University of Kindness
At UCLA, the University of California, the first interdisciplinary Kindness Research, Education and Practice Institute was founded over a year ago, where a team of scholars from different academic fields have the common goal of transforming and informing both the individual and society by understanding and practicing kindness. In particular, philanthropist Matthew Harris, co-founder of the Bendari Foundation, (which created the Californian Institute of Kindness, inspired by Buddhist philosophy), emphasizes that his need to create a university dedicated to kindness serves as a reminder that this power is available to us, if we know how to use it properly, and that we can benefit from its many effects on our lives, such as:
slowing down aging;
improving social relationships;
being contagious from person to person, from group to group;
making us happier and less stressed.
Cultivating kindness with determination and practice
In addition to the foundation of a first Kindness University, in the question 'are we born or do we become kind', recent studies show that only 25 per cent of our genetic make-up is capable of determining certain personality traits, such as kindness. This means that, like every muscle in our body, kindness can be trained to become effectively revolutionary.
In this regard, there is a book out in 2020 that is dedicated to this very aspect and more. "'The Biology of Kindness', written by Daniel Lumera, world expert in the Science of WELL-BEING, in collaboration with scientist, professor and epidemiologist Immacolata de Vivo, of the Harvard School of Public Health, investigates in depth the choices we make every day that influence the premature aging of the entire organism.
The two authors point out, as science also reminds us, that on a biological level, kindness is a true natural medicine, capable of counteracting inflammatory processes and reducing oxidative stress. (both of which are factors that deteriorate the 'Telomeres', the so-called sentinels of longevity, which are located at the ends of our chromosomes).
In Covid times, then, kindness is to be considered an evolutionary response to health-related survival; a care for ourselves and others, as a social value and as a biological and evolutionary imperative. One could say, as Lumera goes on to say, that the power of kindness takes the form of a real 'revolution', creating a sense of belonging and interconnectedness between ourselves and the outside world, capable of changing (and saving) the world. If we want to.
Spreading kindness changes us and others
“The simplest act of kindness is far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer."
(Gandhi)
If we notice, when we perform a kind gesture without thinking about the reward, we feel good about ourselves and at peace with the world, even if it is only a few fractions of a second. There, our body thanks and so does our mind. But that's not all; when we spread kindness, we give love and receive love and a profound transformation takes place that makes us change our perspective on ourselves and others. Nothing mystical, then, even though the great Gandhi said that: "The simplest act of kindness is far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer".
Spreading the feeling of kindness is also a way of bonding the whole community, starting with the people we know in order to infect them with that sense of 'good manners', sincere, humble and empathetic, which recreates trust in life and improves social relations, both real and virtual. But in order to go beyond the bad manners we encounter on a daily basis, it is necessary to act consciously, responsibly and therefore trained, in favour of that human heritage that kindness is capable of making: "that is to say, a strong chain that keeps all men bound". (Goethe)
It is interesting to know that there are already several realities, including movements and non-profits, which are dedicated to spreading this "kindness revolution" as a new model of life. Here are some interesting links to go and see, to understand what it is all about and to become a concrete "Kindness Ambassador":
Kindness Movement or Gentletude;
A value card called Joydeed that passes from person to person with simple and true kind actions;
International non-profit organisation, or worldwide kindness movement;
Singapore as a model of kindness.
#3 KIND ACTIONS to become a concrete Ambassador
“Musica, parole e suoni possono cambiare la biochimica del nostro corpo. Anche per questo bisognerebbe comprendere l'importanza dell'uso della gentilezza nelle parole."
(Daniel Lumera)
As we have seen, training kindness is possible. In fact, with a good dose of determination and daily awareness, we may or may not choose to do a certain altruistic action; and if we do, the changes are immediate in our lifestyle, with evident consequences also in our physical and psychophysical health. Let us remember, that the KINDNESS REVOLUTION exists and comes only from us.
As Daniel Lumera advises, in addition to kindness, the values of empathy, gratitude, forgiveness and optimism are the real architects for improving ourselves and creating a better world. In particular, empathy, along with kindness, is that capacity that allows us to understand the opinions of others, putting ourselves in the shoes of others, while lowering the level of conflict, while remaining firm on our own convictions, without assuming any judgmental presence.
So let's see how to put the Kindness Revolution into practice, through 3 simple actions that we can do every day:
action towards another human being: help a person in difficulty, even on small errands (e.g. an elderly person crossing the street, smile and tell a joke to a sad person, play with a child, listen to a friend or stranger vent, give clothes to associations for the needy);
action towards animals: making yourself available to your pet is a beautiful action, to be dedicated on a daily basis (e.g. giving a cuddle, approaching an animal without frightening it, toileting your pet alone and playing together);
action towards nature: it is not necessary to have a green thumb, it is enough to buy a single basil or sage plant and put it in the window and take care of it daily, to start our kind action towards our mother earth (e.g. but also plant a tree at a distance and follow it online, like a real adoption).
So what are we waiting for? Let's start our personal 'Kindness revolution' to change the world... today!
JOMOSOPHY Recommends:
"Biology of Kindness", by Daniel Lumera, 2020.