The Secret to Joy....

"The secret to joy is to be unconditionally kind to every living thing in your life (including yourself)."
- Author Unknown

When I came across this I did not know how to take this statement. Joy is something that I would like to feel so much more in my life. How does being unconditionally kind lead to joy. Not that I have anything against being unconditionally kind. But how exactly does that lead to joy?

When I really thought about it, it started to make a kind of sense. If I have kindness to every living thing, if I an disciplined enough to be kind unfailingly and in all situations what happens?

By being unfailing in my kindness to others, the world starts changing. My perceptions of those people or things begin to change. I see people as more kind. For others, if I am unfailingly kind, people will believe that there is something in them that fosters kindness. That there is something kind within themselves. Thus the level of kindness increases exponentially.

With people focusing on kindness, energy no longer has to be diverted to arguing, defensiveness, conflict, doubt, fear, or anxiety. Therefore, our natural state of joy (like some younger children have) is energized.