Mahatma Gandhi said, "As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves."
This seems true for me. For several decades the most important intention I have had is to develop to my full potential. That is why I am seeking to find meaning and purpose in living with someone who has dementia. I think the situations we encounter in life are fodder for growth, which makes us either better persons or bitter persons. I also think I have a responsibility for how I treat others. There is the most amazing research well documented in psychology that it only takes one caring adult to have a special interest in a child, for that child to achieve his/her potential -- instead of going the other direction into misbehavior, etc. I don't have the research to support this, but my hunch is that the benefit of this caring attention is not restricted to just children.
Since we learned yesterday the benefits of acts of kindness upon oneself and others, it is certainly worth practicing kindness as a habit, as an opportunity to "remake ourselves".
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