Gentle and Kind

“. . . gentleness is stronger than severity, water is stronger than rock, love is stronger than force.”
― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

“To hold our tongues when everyone is gossiping, to smile without hostility at people and institutions, to compensate for the shortage of love in the world with more love in small, private matters; to be more faithful in our work, to show greater patience, to forgo the cheap revenge obtainable from mockery and criticism: all these are things we can do. ”― Hermann Hesse

Reflecting rather than projecting.
Listening rather than answering.
Digging rather than skimming.
Diving rather than floating.
Softening rather than hardening.
Connecting rather than dividing.
Welcoming rather than othering.
Proximity rather than distancing.
Be gentle, kind and love well.
The “things” each can do to make a difference.

“We are sun and moon, dear friend; we are sea and land. It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor him for what he is: each the other’s opposite and complement.”― Hermann Hesse, Narcissus and Goldmund