In a small valley, there was a village where a man once lived who was known for his kindness. All of his neighbors loved him. In their little slice of heaven, he was considered the happiest.
His positive outlook influenced those around him. Any friend who came to talk with him walked away with a smile on their face. It was as though he was an angel sent there to watch over everyone.
One villager was impressed and genuinely curious about why the man was so at peace with himself. Therefore, he set off to find his happy neighbor to get some answers.
It wasn’t long before the neighbor came face-to-face with the kind man.
After exchanging pleasantries, he asked, “What’s your secret to staying happy? How are you so at peace with everything?”
The happy man replied, “When you’re at peace with yourself, you can be at peace with the rest of the world. You start to enjoy life.”
He went on to explain that finding peace within yourself is not as easy as it sounds. It requires a person to keep his or her thoughts under control. However, when you do, you‘ll become strong and firm. You’ll develop good habits. Moreover, once you do, the happiness inside of you will be revealed.
The villager then asked, “How do you stop people from exploiting your kindness?”
The kind man had this to say, “The important thing to remember is that kindness is not a weakness. It’s a showing of your inner strength. And when you have inner strength people can feel that. People can’t exploit someone with strong inner strength.”
