As human beings of course we should be kind. So, what does this have to do with mindfulness? Kindness often can manifest itself from a deeper place of understanding how we are as human beings. In mindfulness, we are able to put a bit of a space between stimulus and response, thus accurately seeing this moment for what it is. We learn not only to see how we or someone else responds to a particular situation, but it also allows for us to see what has caused this reaction in ourselves and others. If we are able to really be present with a situation that may result in anger, we may begin to clearly see the anger itself as well as the hurt, confusion, or impatience that may have caused the anger in the first place.
When we begin to recognize the origin of our own suffering as human beings which primarily comes from a sense of dissatisfaction with how things are and the longing for them to be different, we can see that this source of suffering is also the same for everyone else. Hopefully, if one is able to cultivate this understanding in their lives, then a sincere sense of compassion comes up for ourselves and for others. We see that we are all essentially the same in our reaction to moment by moment events and that we cannot always clearly respond to a situation all of the time. Our lives are often times messy and challenging. It is this way for all of us. To be mindful means to practice compassion and kindness in everything we do, even when we recognize we have not been so kind. Even awareness of our unkindness and not beating ourselves up over it, is an act of kindness. And, if we can extend that beyond ourselves, perhaps maybe this is how mindful awareness can help save the world.