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Stopping.com

Covering the Bases

"If I die, I forgive you; if I recover, we'll see." --Spanish proverb

I always wonder how some people know exactly what virtue is and how to live it. It seems to me that just when you seem to get it down, it changes. Today kindness leads me to treat someone with confrontation, tomorrow with care. What, indeed, is kindness? Rather would I say that she is a kind person; his was a kind act.

And so often what might seem virtuous to me, some act of justice or charity or honesty, in reality is an act that gets me what I want; I'm simply "covering all the bases."

Consider the virtue of forgiveness as presented in the wry saying above. The point seems to be that, live or die, I have not forgiven you. Not really. Forgiveness with a condition, in this case my death, is not forgiveness. Even so, the words have an appealing human touch to them. We can all relate to them.

Emerson even speaks of virtues that don't appear to be virtues: "The virtues of society are the vices of the saint."

So, all said and done, how can we know what virtue is and what is vice? Here are a couple suggestions for ways to start the process: To know virtue and true goodness, withdraw from the marketplace and know your own heart as deeply as you can. To withhold hasty and unfair judgement on others, "walk" a few miles, quietly in your mind, in their moccasins.

When you return to the marketplace, chances are better that you will arrive with an intuitive recognition of virtue, or its absence, in you and in me.

Reflect on true virtue today, in yourself, in others.

---

Reviews

Miracle of Mindfulness
A reviewer from Los Angeles on amazon.com:

This book is a miracle of mindfulness! In short segments that can be read in less than 10 minutes, Kundtz manages to distill the philospohy of Christian, Buddhist, and other religous traditions in a way that is refreshingly non-sectarian. The exercises that conclude each segment can easily be remembered and conducted throught the day and, taken together, form a transformational course in mindfulness for the everday person. My only complaint about the book is that I wish it weighed less, so it could more easily be tossed into a briefcase or purse.

Life-changing Book
Reviewer: Amy Berger:

David Kundtz has created a masterpiece! Just reading the introduction to Quiet Mind touched my soul and brought a smile to my face. David's concise suggestions for healthy, peaceful living are necessary for each of us living on this often-complicated planet.

Quiet Mind is easy to read, quick to digest and provides a top-notch reference book for each day, during the times I need some clarity and a bit of humor...it's a book that I'll refer to for a long time to come. Thank you David for this lovely, helpful book!

For those seeking a greater understanding of life!
Reviewer: Sandra Smith, Midwest Book Review:

Quiet Mind is the latest offering from David J. Kundtz, a psychotherapist, author, and speaker. Dr. Kundtz is an advocate of Stopping, "which is doing nothing--for as briefly as a minute or for as long as a month--for the purpose of becoming more fully awake and remembering who you are." People today are starved for time to themselves. Their days are filled with so many things that have to be done that they have no time for solitude or reflection.

Dr. Kundtz's meditations are intended to help people turn those little moments between activities into "stillpoints," where there is no guilt or pressure, where the focus is on just quietly and peacefully being. Those who are able to make such moments for themselves will find that they enjoy life more, and have more energy to do the other things they need to do.

Dr. Kundtz divided the book into fourteen chapters, with titles like "Making Room for Life" and "Finding Your Balance." Each chapter is filled with relevant meditations. Finding Your Balance, for example, includes "A Walk Down The Street" and "It Just Is."

All the meditations begin with a quote--some from philosophers like Socrates, and some from contemporary sources, like Woody Allen. Dr. Kundtz then offers a quiet "reflection" on the quote, and ends with a suggestion of how the reader might apply it to his or her own life. His reflection on "It Just Is" ends with "today quietly observe what keeps you from going with the flow." Everyday Serenity includes a meditation for each day of the year. Each is designed to serve as an opportunity to "pause for a purpose, to draw you to a moment of both rest and insight." Readers who use them will find themselves "becoming more awake and intentional" with a greater understanding of what they truly want from life and how to get it.

'All work and no play make Jack and Jill dull kids.'
Reviewer: Jill M Long:

Great quotes offered inspiration. Great research provided the motivation. Don't be fooled that the 1-1/2 page snapshots of a variety of topics from finding peace and balance in your life to receiving permission to stop aren't deep enough. Each word, each question posed in the fourteen chapters address key issues of life and I must have tabbed ten pages for later reference.

As part of a writer's group, I introduced the others to David Kundtz's words of wisdom and encouragement. I know two went and bought his book the next day.

Thanks for reminder in the (adapted) traditional saying: 'All work and no play make Jack and Jill dull kids.' I have to go mountain bike now, and yes, it's the middle of the workday :-)

- Jill (That's really my name.)