Saying you should try to be kind sounds like a really silly and obvious thing to say. It’s the sort of thing you only need to tell little children to stop them being nasty in the playground. You know there are better things to be than kind. Like being creative, or the top dog.
In every life, we are constantly confronted with situations where a stranger will do something acutely irritating or discomforting: perhaps they’ll turn up their music too loudly on the train, or…
One of the distinctive features of social life is that most of the people we meet seem really quite normal. They often appear reasonably responsible and logical, harbour little self-hatred or compulsion,…
Compassion for others is an attractive notion, but in reality we often find it extremely difficult to be kindly and understanding towards people who make a lot of noise at unwanted…