I had no idea what to expect，but as I sunk into the large wicker chair beside him，I couldn’t help feeling that he was going to say something profound. After all，if a turtle can change my life，why not a wise old farmer? After a brief hello and a polite introduction，we simply sat in silence and let the sunlight warm our faces. After what seemed like an eternity，he finally spoke.“You know，”he said，“I’ve often thought that the meaning of life is making things a little bit easier for those around us，what do you think?”I was speechless. It felt like I had just been hit on the head again by life’s big karma stick. He went on to tell me his version of“the secrets to life”and how“true happiness can only be found by loving and serving others”. Finally he finished with“Oh，and don’t forget you really gotta’love the one you’re with yourself ”.
Life was obviously trying to tell me something. In the days and weeks that followed，the world looked completely different to me. The more I studied and tested my“kindness creates happiness”theory，the more I was blown away by its life-changing power. I realized that most of my disappointments in life were simply because I had been unkind to others and especially to myself.
After spending much of my life thinking“What’s in it for me?”，my new inner mantra became“Am I being kind?”This one simple question changed my life. So，whenever I feel the need to disagree with my wife，lash out at a rude employee in the mall or even before I shove ten cookies into my mouth，I go within and ask，“Am I being kind?”These four little words have become my source to inner peace. It has created many positive changes in me such as recycling and acting more“green”and consciously respecting all of life. I even stopped setting the mousetraps in the garage. (My wife is going to kill me when she reads that last one.) Another big change in my life was the irresistible urge to perform“spontaneous acts of kindness”. Things like buying coffee for strangers