The HKL Time is a warm, uplifting publication shared every two weeks to celebrate the global impact of the Humility, Kindness & Love movement. It highlights community efforts and strengthens connection among HKL volunteers and supporters around the world.
The Beauty of Being Human
What is it that allows us to experience life?
At first, the answer seems obvi- ous: this human body. Yet this body is much more than flesh and bone. It is the most precious creation within God's creation, through which we are allowed to experience life in all of its beauty. But do we truly recog- nize that beauty? And if we do, how do we live in harmony with it? Life is unbelievably beauti- ful. When we begin to recog- nize that beauty ourselves, those around us begin to see it as well, and our lives become even more beautiful. We are encouraged to become more beautiful every day, to care for our health, and to fulfill our responsibilities faithfully. These may seem like simple practices, but they shape the very way we experience life.
So what does it really mean to fulfill our responsibilities?
It means becoming aware of our relationship with everything around us. Every conversation, every interaction, and every re- sponse reveals something about who we are. Our personality is not defined by what we think of ourselves, but by how we relate to others. The way we speak, the way we listen, and even the way we carry ourselves all reflect the As our consciousness changes, everything else begins to change with it.
It shows in the way we walk. The way we sit. The way we speak. Even the expressions on our faces begin to reflect what is taking place within. We've all encountered people whose presence immediately puts us at ease. Before they speak, there is already a gentleness about them. Their humility, kindness, and peace seem to radiate nat- urally. When our consciousness changes, that transformation does not remain hidden within us. Others begin to experience it too.
Without meditation, it becomes easy to simply copy the world. around us. We react instead of responding. Desire, anger, greed, attachment, and ego quietly be- gin shaping our decisions. We start living almost entirely from the mind. Yet human beings were never meant to live from the mind. We were created to live through the heart.
When we forget our true nature, relationships begin to suffer. Fear replaces trust. Ego replaces humility. People slowly become strangers to one another. Maybe this helps explain why today's world can often feel so discon- nected. It was never meant to be this way. Human life was meant state of our consciousness.
Sheikh Farid Ji beautifully asks: What is that word? What is that virtue? What is that sacred mantra? What garment should I wear that would draw the Be- loved Lord close?
He then answers:
Humility is the word. Forgive- ness is the virtue. Sweet speech is the sacred mantra.
How remarkable it is that hu- mility, forgiveness, and the sweetness of our speech are not simply virtues that make us better people. They are the very qualities that attract the Divine Himself.
This brings up another question. How do we uncover these qual- ities within ourselves?
Through Meditation.
Through meditation, we come to realize that humility, love, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness are not qualities we have to create. They are already within us. They are part of who we truly are. Over time, howev- er, they become buried beneath layers of ego, desires, fear, attachment, and endless thoughts. Meditation does not give us these virtues. It simply uncovers what has always been there.
Art By Theodore Wores to be a garden where love, kindness, humility, and mutual respect flourish. Every person who strives to awaken these qualities within themselves helps restore a little more of that garden.
The true measure of our medita- tion may not be how long we sit, but how deeply it transforms the way we relate to God's creation.
Has our speech become sweeter?
Are we becoming more patient and forgiving?
Do those around us experience more love, kindness, and respect because our paths crossed?
These are questions worth car- rying with us in the days ahead.
I am deeply grateful for these beautiful reminders and for the opportunity to reflect on them with all of you. May we con- tinue striving to uncover the humility, love, and compassion that already reside within us, so that we may not only recognize the beauty of life, but become a source of that beauty for others.