This was an interesting post by William Harryman on Elephant Journal - he talks about how difficult it is to be nice to people.
“Being nice, as Susan points out, is not easy, and it’s not lazy, and it’s not soft. It requires us to be fully present in every moment with every person. Being nice takes warrior heart as Chogyam Trungpa pointed out so often.”
The concept of being a warrior is applicable to the most basic situations in our lives-to the fundamental situation that exists before the notion of good or bad ever occurs. The term “warrior” relates to the basic situation of being a human being. The heart of the warrior is this basic aliveness or basic goodness. Such fearless goodness is free from doubt and overcomes any perverted attitudes towards reality.
“Being nice requires that we face the world with honesty, with openness, with tenderness toward the hatred, the pain, the suffering we see when we really look, we are truly present. Being nice requires that we do not turn away.”
It’s a wonderful creed, but how many of us can really do this? Wasn’t this what Jesus of Nazareth did, especially just before his death?
If you think you can or at least commit to try, please sign the “Nice Manifesto” and send it to Susan.
Be nice!
