How to Be a Decent Human Being
The art of loving kindness
As we settled into bed for the night, Rob said, “It’s quite an art being a decent human being.”
I couldn’t sleep after that. The phrase repeated itself several times and I found myself wondering about decent human beings and works of art, and trying to combine the two concepts.
Can a human being become a work of art?
I skimmed through six decades of memories, trying to find a connection, and it dawned on me that it is possible for a human to become a piece of art, a thing of beauty and purpose.
How? Through acts of loving kindness.
Loving kindness
I’ve been the recipient of countless acts of loving kindness. I’ll mention two here, one when I was a gauche 17, and another when I was almost 60.
Picture me at 17 in the early 1970s — curly brown hair, freckles and quiet green eyes. I’m in a physical education class which has been turned into a dance instruction session for the upcoming school ball. The girls sit self-consciously, while the boys prop themselves along the wall. Teachers demonstrate the waltz, foxtrot and quickstep, then tell the boys to select a partner. They are to say, “May I have the pleasure of this dance?” The boys huddle and groan as they flick…
