Is this the secret to peace and happiness?

Question

Does it come from not directing inward - but outward?

“ Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting. ”
—Mother Teresa

Answer 1

I think She Makes and Good Start!!!
LOVE is LOVE!!!

But I believe This is a little Better!!!

1.Each morning upon rising, and each evening before sleeping, give thanks for the life within you and for all life, for the good things that Wakan Tanka ---Creator has given you and for the opportunity to grow a little more each day. Consider your thoughts and actions of the past day and seek for the courage and strength to be a better person. Seek for the things that will benefit others (everyone).
2.Show Respect. Respect means “To feel or show honor or esteem for someone or something; to consider the well being of, or to treat someone or something with deference or courtesy.” Showing respect is a basic law of life.
o-Treat every person from the tiniest child to the oldest elder with respect at all times.
o-Special respect should be given to Elders, Parents, Teachers, and Community Leaders.
o-No person should be made to feel “put down” by you; avoid hurting other hearts as you would avoid a deadly poison.
o-Touch nothing that belongs to someone else (especially Sacred Objects) without permission, or an understanding between you.
o-Respect the privacy of every person, never intrude on a person’s quiet moment or personal space.
o-Never walk between people that are conversing.
o-Never interrupt people who are conversing.
o-Speak in a soft voice, especially when you are in the presence of Elders, strangers or others to whom special respect is due.
o-Do not speak unless invited to do so at gatherings where Elders are present (except to ask what is expected of you, should you be in doubt).
o-Never speak about others in a negative way, whether they are present or not.
o-Treat the earth and all of her aspects as your mother. Show deep respect for the mineral world, the plant world, and the animal world. Do nothing to pollute our Mother, rise up with wisdom to defend her.
o-Show deep respect for the beliefs and religion of others.
o-Listen with courtesy to what others say, even if you feel that what they are saying is worthless. Listen with your heart.
3.Respect the wisdom of the people in council. Once you give an idea to a council meeting it no longer belongs to you. It belongs to the people. Respect demands that you listen intently to the ideas of others in council and that you do not insist that your idea prevail. Indeed you should freely support the ideas of others if they are true and good, even if those ideas are quite different from the ones you have contributed. The clash of ideas brings forth the Spark of Truth. Once a council has decided something in unity, respect demands that no one speak secretly against what has been decided. If the council has made an error, that error will become apparent to everyone in its own time.
4.Be truthful at all times, and under all conditions.
5.Always treat your guests with honor and consideration. Give of your best food, your best blankets, the best part of your house, and your best service to your guests.
6.The hurt of one is the hurt of all, the honor of one is the honor of all.
7.Receive strangers and outsiders with a loving heart and as members of the human family.
8.All the races and tribes in the world are like the different colored flowers of one meadow. All are beautiful. As children of the Wakan Tanka---Creator they must all be respected.
9.To serve others, to be of some use to family, community, nation, and the world is one of the main purposes for which human beings have been created. Do not fill yourself with your own affairs and forget your most important talks. True happiness comes only to those who dedicate their lives to the service of others.
10.Observe moderation and balance in all things.
11.Know those things that lead to your well-being, and those things that lead to your destruction.
12.Listen to and follow the guidance given to your heart. Expect guidance to come in many forms; in prayer, in dreams, in times of quiet solitude, and in the words and deeds of wise Elders and friends.

Answer 2

I think if everyone lived by this motto, the world would be a much better place & lets face it, its not difficult is it?
The best things in life are free...... and they really are the very best. Its how you reach out to people that counts... a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on, a big hug just for nothing, a friendly chat with a stranger on the bus or in the supermarket queue.
We all have the potential to leave people feeling uplifted by our presence. We all have enough love to share with the people around us & beyond. Shall we do that?

With love & good wishes to you as always.

Answer 3

Hi!

The spreading of love must be unconditional and inclusive - not based on self or even faith interest communities. Mother Teresa illustrated this in her life as a Christian who grew up in a Muslim country and went on to serve the people of a Hindu city.

We would all want our children to eat. The world will change when we want all children to eat.

Good wishes.

Answer 4

I love the premise ESGuy, and I would add that it must start within, the source is the heart of each and every one of us. That is, to me, the start of the secret.

Once this 'power-base' is firmly established I couldn't agree with Mother Theresa more. I have been trying to get the message out for years, don't worry about people halfway around the world if you can't give your immediate loved ones what they desire, which is, indeed, simply your unconditional love.

Once this is understood and implemented, this world will transform in the blink of an eye.

Another word for kindness is compassion, and whichever word you prefer there is no doubt about the effect of both of them. We are mirrors of each other, and if we are not reflecting kindness and compassion, it is because we are not seeing it. And that is why it starts with each of us, we are responsible for what we see in the world.

Thanks ES Guy, for a great question, and for all of the equally great answers. :-)))

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Cosmic Love}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Answer 5

That sounds like a great creed to follow. Mother Teresa was a wise woman.

Answer 6

Bingo. Its kind of a companion to karma, what you put out there comes back to you. Maybe not always initially (for those skeptics), but overall. I believe it is the key ingredient to peace and happiness.

Answer 7

The secret to happiness is faith is Jesus and love for your fellow human.

Answer 8

I Give howls to all that will listen, know where the howl begins and where it ends and the secret will be known as cosmicvoyager put so well. *howl*

Answer 9

Yes. Let go and grow.

Answer 10

Amen.

I don't care what religion you are;that should be followed by everyone.