{"id":38453,"date":"2021-04-09T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-09T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/?p=38453"},"modified":"2026-04-22T09:59:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T16:59:35","slug":"choose-kindness-its-that-simple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/nl\/2021\/04\/09\/choose-kindness-its-that-simple\/","title":{"rendered":"Choose kindness: It’s That Simple"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mask up. Eyes down. Get in, get out. Those were my internal directives early last March, when fear of the pandemic was raging on the island where I live in the Pacific Northwest. I was making my first big foray into the grocery store. What is normally a cheery, busy place \u2014 our sociable town center \u2014 was eerily silent, with few shoppers. No one was making eye contact. Acquaintances, even friends, pretended not to see one another.<\/p>

I was pretending too, and it felt terrible. No talking, no smiles, no sharing of life events. It felt like we were all suspicious of each other. Just get in, get out, I reminded myself. And then I broke my own rule: I looked up. The man who stacked the vegetables in artistic arrays, the one who always had a sunny smile and tip about the best buy on the best veggie, was clouded over, withdrawn, clearly sad and scared. That did it.<\/p>

\u201cHey, Mark!\u201d I said, standing at a distance. \u201cWhat looks good today?\u201d Mark brightened a tad and pointed to the Romanesco, the elegantly weird fractal vegetable that\u2019s a marriage of broccoli and cauliflower. \u201cHow do you cook it? Why would you cook it? Have you ever cooked it?\u201d \u2014 I peppered him with questions.\u00a0<\/p>

Pretty soon, he was telling stories about discovering Romanesco in the farmers market in San Francisco, where he was going to art school and supporting himself as a part-time caterer. He tried the new veggie, liked it, and cooked it for the documentary film crew he was feeding. Who knew?<\/p>

Romanesco now in my cart, I said goodbye. \u201cTake care, Mark, and thanks so much for sharing your great stories!\u201d Mark stood taller. His eyes sparkled. Happy crow\u2019s feet radiated like sunbeams, evidence of a broad smile beneath his mask. As I wheeled my groceries away, I heard him greet another customer: \u201cMorning! Have you ever tried Romanesco? It\u2019s on sale and tastes amazing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>

Passing by the dairy section, this thought popped into my head: There\u2019s the frightening contagion of coronavirus and how it makes us feel and respond; and then there\u2019s the warm contagion of kindness and how it makes us feel and respond. We may not be able to easily clear the feeling of fear by acknowledging or befriending it, then letting it drift away, but we always have the choice to respond with kindness. It\u2019s that simple.\u00a0<\/p>

My teacher, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, often talks about kindness, whether he\u2019s unpacking Buddhist philosophy or offering examples of ways to extend kindness to others in our daily lives. He started the Go Kind campaign in 2017, and I find it a helpful reminder, an easy tagline to carry with me throughout my day.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Daily, Simple, Kindness Practice<\/h2>

Here\u2019s how I practice \u201cgoing kind\u201d \u2014 whether I\u2019m shopping or anywhere else \u2014 in case you would like to try it.\u00a0<\/p>

  1. Mask on, eyes up! Look at people \u2014 your family, friends, strangers, the man stacking vegetables. If they seem sad, then pause for a moment.\u00a0<\/li>
  2. Take a deep breath or two to settle yourself, then Go Kind. Choose kindness and do what feels right to you: Offer a warm smile \u2014 people can tell you\u2019re smiling even when your mask is on; ask them sincerely how they are doing; stop and listen if you can, etc.<\/li>
  3. Remind yourself that kindness isn’t about \u201cfixing\u201d anything. It is an offering from your heart to theirs.<\/li>
  4. Notice how being kind feels inside you. I often feel warmth, relaxation, a lightness. See what it feels like for you and where the sensation resides in your body. What happens to your breathing? And check in with your mind! \u201cHow is my mind right now?\u201d is a great question to stop and ask yourself, especially after an act of kindness, generosity, patience or other positive action or practice.<\/li>
  5. Watch how kindness spreads, from you to another and beyond. It\u2019s that simple.<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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    \n\t\t\t\t\t\"Juli\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t
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    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJuli Goetz Morser\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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    Juli Goetz Morser dined on the smorgasbord of dharma for a number of years, tasting a variety
    \nof classes, before enrolling in Nitartha Institute in 2008, where she met Dzogchen Ponlop
    \nRinpoche. Rinpoche became her teacher in 2010, and she became a member of Nalandabodhi.
    \nJuli is a writer, poet and editor who often writes and edits for Nalandabodhi and Karmapa Center 16.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    While out shopping for groceries, the author gets inspired to challenge her fear of the coronavirus pandemic by safely connecting with others and choosing kindness.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":38455,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3009],"tags":[3404,3408,3414,3405],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChoose kindness: It's That Simple - Nalandabodhi International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While out shopping for groceries, the author gets inspired to challenge her fear of the coronavirus pandemic by safely connecting with others and choosing kindness.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nalandabodhi.org\/nl\/2021\/04\/09\/choose-kindness-its-that-simple\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"nl_NL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Choose kindness: It's That Simple - 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