The purpose of each week’s mindfulness exercise is to take us out of our head and to take us out of our ego into the mysterious glory and wonder of being in the present moment and living life to the fullest. You have heard this many times: We cannot undo the past and we cannot know the future. The best we can do is to be fully present in the moment.
What is the deeper meaning that underlies the assignment this week to commit random acts of kindness that are anonymous? Why not let people know exactly what you did? Isn’t that more honest you might ask? Well here’s the reason.
When we actually do something for someone else, there is a lot of mental gobblygook that underpins that decision. I do it myself all the time. For example, I decide to do something for a friend because they have done something for me recently. I think to myself,
“You know, I need to balance this out. They keep inviting us to dinner, we need to exchange that invitation and invite them to dinner. They know that they invited us to dinner and of course we know that we need to invite them.”
Don’t get me wrong; there’s nothing wrong with this thinking. It’s obviously important to have an even exchange of giving and taking with friends. But this thinking also shifts us away from being totally and completely in the moment – of relishing the wonder and the glory of being able to do something for another person. Our thoughts can always give us a logical rationale for why we are doing what we are doing for others.
Acts of kindness then may actually be on their face, an act of kindness, but underneath there may be an expectation of some giveback, some return. For example,
“I’ll do this for you and now, because you owe something to me, you’re going to have to do something for me, which is what I’ve been asking for all along.”
Again, let me emphasize, there’s nothing wrong with this rationale, but it does take us out of being totally and completely present in the moment.
To experience the unreserved joy, exhilaration and surge of energy that you will be able to experience when you commit an act of kindness, you can do so thoroughly and completely and fully when it becomes anonymous – when the act of kindness has a purity about it. There are no expectations of a pay back. There is no thought that this is something you are doing in order to even the score with another person. The act on its face is simply a pure and unadulterated act of kindness that comes from your heart.
This invitation – if you have chosen to accept it – is quite exhilarating in itself because it requires that you invent ways to be totally and completely in the present moment. You do that and you do not have any entanglement with your ego or your mind. You do not think about the past. You do not anticipate or worry about the future. When you commit your act of kindness you are totally and completely in the present.
Some acts of kindness require that you be more attentive to the present or else you are going to get caught. You have to be very grounded and centered when you commit these acts else you will be discovered.
That’s the reason then why acts of kindness offer us the opportunity to become more in the present, more mindful. Always keep in mind the purpose of the mindfulness exercises is to learn ways of reducing stress in our lives and as stress is dissolved, we suddenly look at our bodies and are able to recognize symptoms don’t seem to be present anymore. The link between stress and symptoms is strong, but that does not mean it can not be broken.
Dissolve that link with doing anonymous acts of kindness for the rest of the week.
May you secretive.
May you be sneaky
May you have endless fun for the rest of the week.
Robert
© Parkinsons Recovery