Kindness is Being Magnanimous

Day 24: Kindness is Being Magnanimous

“Be about ten times more magnanimous than you believe yourself capable of. Your life will  be a hundred times better for it.” – Cheryl Strayed

I just came across the above quote on Instagram. It is from Sheryl Strayed’s new book Brave Enough. I’m in love with the word magnanimous. What a wonderful ambition, to be able to be generous in forgiving and free from petty resentfulness. If we are capable of being magnanimous, true kindness would certainly exude. In a way, being magnanimous is being kind. What is more kind than being generous in forgiveness to ourselves and others, and being free of resentfulness?

1. Kindness to Self:

   Being magnanimous towards ourselves is the first step in learning how to be in love with ourselves. If we can learn to always be generous in forgiving ourselves, we would not only love ourselves, but be capable of anything.

2. Kindness to Others:

   If we can be free of resenting others and quick to forgive, we will be able to love freely and with kindness.

3. Kindness to Strangers:

   Having a magnanimous attitude towards the world and all of the people in it, will bring about true kindness and being kind and doing kind acts will be part of our make up, something we will no longer have to give thought to, it will just happen naturally.

4. Kindness to Our Planet:

   Can we be magnanimous towards our planet? Absolutely! We can rejoice in the numerous gifts and learn to embrace what is. Enjoy the rain when it rains, love the heat and humidity in the summer and the cold in the winter. The world, life, and people are constantly changing. Learning to love what is, will lead to a magnanimous and kind world.

Jennifer Palazzo

Photo Courtesy of FreeImages.com/kung kung