The reward for love is closeness. This is a treasure that cannot be bought or stolen or achieved. It is a law of the living: care leads to intimacy. Often we discover our dearest friends when stopping to help another or when someone is kind enough to carry us when we have fallen. The truth is there is no substitute for going through things together. There is no way to language what two whales share who swim around the world together or what binds two friends who climb through a forest of years in each other’s steps. Kindness itself is a way of life. Oh there will always be those who wait for others to lift the heavy load, those who count on you or me to make the extra effort. Do not begrudge them. For though they suffer, they have not suffered enough. They cause themselves more harm than they know. When you lend a hand, you open a way for your heart to touch the heart of everything. This is a wealth that only grows. While those we help may leave or die or simply grow into their own beauty and be loved by others, the closeness uncovered by kindness turns to light in the body. The closeness generated by kindness makes a lamp of the heart.
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