Piero Ferrucci has written an excellent book titled The Power Of Kindness. The Power of Kindness is a stirring examination of a simple but profound concept. Piero Ferrucci, one of the world’s most respected transpersonal psychologists, explores the many surprising facets of kindness and argues that it is this trait that will not only lead to our own individual happiness and the happiness of those around us, but will guide us in a world that has become cold, anxious, difficult, and frightening. Piero Ferrucci warns against the dangers of “global cooling.” As the pace of living grows faster and the impact of new technologies more insistent, communications become hurried and impersonal. The drive for profit overrides the heart. Warmth and genuine presence fade. In eighteen interlocking chapters, Dr. Ferrucci reveals that the kindest people are the most likely to thrive, to enable others to thrive, and to slowly but steadily turn our world away from violence, self-centeredness, and narcissism- and toward love. Writing with a rare combination of sensitivity and intellectual depth, Dr. Ferrucci shows that, ultimately, kindness is not a luxury in our world but rather a necessity for us all.”
“True generosity is guided by awareness. It gives people what they really need for their next step forward-which may simply be survival. Or learning. Or developing an interest. Or healing. Or finding work. Or expressing a talent. It is a giving that is not dictated by a sense of guilt, by a debt, by wanting to create dependence or show off. It is truly a free gift, which in turn generates freedom. This is kindness at its best.”
“Generosity is exactly this: to give that which is dearest to us. It is an act that transforms us. After it, we will be poorer, but we will feel richer. Perhaps we will feel less equipped and secure, but we will be freer. We will have made the world we live in a little kinder.”
“In a universe in which nothing stays the same, it is hard to find any stronghold that may offer us protection and security. The only way to survive consists in the art of adapting to events that continually take us by surprise. If you adapt, you survive. If, in the midst of changing conditions, you stay fixed, you perish.”
“We cannot be kind if we forget those who are no longer useful to us. We will never be whole and comfortable, in ourselves and with others, if we divide people into grade A and grade B. We will not understand the relationships we have with one another if we do not deeply understand how much our lives are woven together in the past, present, and future, how much they become part of one another, and how much each one of us is everyone else.”
“The possibility of feeling grateful is open to us in even moment of our life. And yet we often miss this opportunity. That happens because to be grateful we have to be without defenses—a risky predicament. We have to renounce our pride in order to recognize that our happiness depends on someone else. Many people do not like to feel they are dependent.”
“The main doubt to overcome is that by seeking our own joy, we are somehow subtracting that of others. Actually, selfishness and altruism can be friends, not enemies. If we seek joy, we will be much more positive and open to others. We will be on their side. A multitude of studies shows that if we are happy, we are also more altruistic. Other studies show that if we are altruistic, we are also happier. For instance, those who do some kind of volunteer work are usually happier and more balanced than the average.”
“I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquillity comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warm-hearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. ”
You can buy the book from here.
