It is strange to me that seemingly every political candidate runs their race on a platform of ‘change’ yet as a people we don’t have a clear vision of what change looks like. So I am developing The Kindness Paradigm as a guideline for what that change needs to consist of for each of us as individuals and what life could be like if we did change.

Once we have a common vision for what we want our world to look like then the change we keep asking for will slip into place. Without a clear vision the ‘change’ will be elusive.

The common vision:

A world in which every person feels safe and secure and free to follow their heart’s desires; every person thrives both physically and mentally; all people have relationships that are satisfying and fulfilling; all mankind prospers; and every single person reaches the end of each day feeling satisfied and fulfilled. And, should a person reach the end of the day not feeling happily smug they have some form of supportive network to buoy their spirits and ready them for the next day.

The path to achievement:

Develop compassion. Compassion transcends all barriers. Since kindness is a result of compassion, this one action (development of compassion) will change the world.

The steps to compassion:

Mentally relax about life as it is right now. Accept willingly that which presents before us and allow it to exist, whatever it is. Understand that all any of us ever do is seek to feel good. With this understanding it is much easier to feel compassion for others. Hold compassion for ourselves and for others regardless of the situation. What naturally overflows is kindness.

The result:

Life in The Kindness Paradigm looks like each and every person committing words and actions from kindness, kindness being defined as arising from the understanding that what affects one affects another thus nurturing a desire to create harmony through positive word and action.

And:

In this gentler, supportive, kind environment each of us feels free to follow our heart’s desires. There is no thing more important than pursuing the heart’s desires. It is the heart’s desires that stimulate us to action and drives us to pursue our talents. The expression of the heart’s desires causes the heart to soar. Call that soaring heart happiness, fulfillment, satisfaction…put your own name to it. Whatever it is called, a soaring heart is a heart full of gladness and a world full of glad hearts is the goal of The Kindness Paradigm.

Furthermore, living out our heart’s desires in a supportive environment in which it is our common goal to assist one another in developing respective skills and abilities we will each thrive and prosper. When each of us thrives and prospers then we thrive and prosper as a world community.

So what I’m really saying is we can quit focusing on change and instead focus on developing compassion. From compassion we will uplift one another into our wholeness and the change that we seek will slip easily into place.

Cheryl Jensen, February 17, 2014 at Lake Goodwin, Washington  USA