“A benefit should be kept like a buried treasure, only to be dug up in necessity… Natures bids us to do well by all… Wherever there is a human being, we have an opportunity for kindness.”
SENECA, ON THE HAPPY LIFE, 24.2-3
Every moment is an opportunity for kindness, as Seneca helps us understand today in The Daily Stoic book.
Every chance encounter gives us an opening to really listen to someone who needs it — and in fact an opportunity to grow yourself, as you seek to truly hear and understand that person.
And the moment after that, and the moment after that. And the next one, too.
Every action we take carries with it the possibility for kindness, and for benefit — not just for the receiver, but also for the giver. Yes that’s right, being kind benefits you too. That’s not why we do it of course, but it’s true. Being good is good for us, as it turns out! And conversely, being unkind is poison for your soul.
We can’t control if our kindness is returned to us, as author Ryan Holiday points out. It might not be. But we can choose to start with kindness anyway, because it’s the right thing to do.
And because it’s a virtue that is good for our soul.
