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The Kindness of Strangers (SL Reports Exclusive)
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Written by Xavier Mohr
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Wednesday, 27 June 2007 |
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by Campbell Faulds (Newbie on SL)
Have you ever been somewhere you don't know ? I remember getting into LAX from Australia. It was a nightmare to say the least. People pushing past me, my group who were trying to get to wisconsin of all places had no clue where to go. It was a throbbing mass of people we were there a few days out from Thanksgiving. I have never seem so many people in my entire life and try as I might no one could help me when I asked directions, thankfully my grasp of the English language helped me decipher the secret codes that unlocked the keys to where we had to go.
(Continued...)
Ok Ok Ok a little dramatic but you get the picture. If not here it is some times being in a new place is overwhelming and confusing. Sometimes in a new place you need some one who has been there before to lend a hand. It's no different on SL this is a vast universe and for a newbie like me one that has a million and one people on it and things get a little confusing.
The noble art of kindness shown towards strangers seems to be a dying art. In the real world its all about me me me me oh and me. What can I get and What do I need to do to get What I want. Thankfully this was not the case on my first few visits to the place I am now calling my Second Home.
In time honoured fashion Kindness to the Stranger(Newbie) was shown to me by several wonderful Individuals. I have asked them to share a little about their ethos on why they did what they did for me.
Step up to the Mic, Indigo Express and Dream DaCosta a chance for you both to catch a moment in the spotlight you both richly deserve it.
Indigo Express
So what’s my outlook on life huh? Well it’s this, balance, compassion and love. By balance I mean the middle way – rather like in the Buddhist traditions; not only everything in moderation, but also finding that path which is neither too much nor too little because in the end even too much can be viewed as a form of pain as it’s only temporary. Therefore, if one finds the middle way – without much desire – they are truly at peace.
By compassion I mean having the right motivation. If you are compassionate yet with the desire to get back something in return then your motivation is wrong because you will wait and wait until that happens. You may even get angry, especially if it does not happen. So, having the right motivation, i.e. for the pure joy of helping others is its own reward.
And by love, I mean not only the sexual form of love, Eros, or the love for friends and family, like Phobos, but also the kind of love that hits you square in the eyes and takes your breath away, like music does for me at times. This is called Agape. People wishing to understand this further should read Paulo Coehlo’s The Pilgrimage, one of my favourite books.
Finally, what does it mean to me to be kind to other people? Well, being kind is akin to being compassionate, they both involve the same emotions and feelings that arise as you give without wanting to receive, and conversely receive without feelings of due. It’s the meaning of life, it’s the passion which drives me forward, and it’s my purpose here in this life. Indeed, it’s all our purpose I believe. Life without this kind of purpose is like life without spiritual water – we all need it whether we know it or not. Those that do not drink from its well only find misery and unhappiness in themselves. For it is inside all of ourselves from which the biggest fountain of happiness comes.
Dream DaCosta
Hmm - my outlook on life, at least in SL, is that not only am I free spirit here to have fun and explore and enjoy, but that I want SL to be a joyous, cooperative place to live and enjoy each other. There are so many ways that people can bond, and SL presents such a great oppotunity for people from all walks of life and nationalites to be together in something cooperative that has nothing to do with race, sex, religion or national boundaries or cultures. It doesn't get much better than that
Helping people makes me feel good. My first few days here were fun and confusing, and I was grateful for the help i was given. And, even on Orientation Island, I was helping other people out - passing on what little I had already learned. It makes me feel good to help people, to know that I am making somebody else's life here a little easier. I am also sharing a part of me, and hoping that that spirit of giving and sharing will be passed on to others, and that SL wil be enriched by that spirit of generosity and brotherhood.
So as you can see the art of Kindness to strangers is not over quite yet.
More reportings from Campbell to follow soon
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 27 June 2007 )
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