Is kindness love?

I came across a small book in a shop at the weekend called 'congratulations by the way'. It's a transcript of a commencement speech, the sort of rousing, spirited call to go forth and conquer speech which American universities seem to love, to lap up. As do I.

You can read what I think is the whole speech on the New York Times website here: 

http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/george-saunderss-advice-to-graduates/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1&

The author, George Saunders, talks about kindness being a by-product of ageing. He says someone once said "I'm nearly all love now" because they'd lived so long.

I was thinking about this as I stood in the bookshop reading it, taking a photograph of the cover so I'd remember to look it up later. I am seeking kindness. It's a major pillar of who I think I am going to become or want to become and the main reason for this blog, the search for losing myself, my selfish self, my boundaries and instead to try and merge with others and 'see' them. His book also got me wondering how many others are there trying to do this? And how can I meet some of them? Also I wondered is it true that we all come to this, to a step of trepidation towards kindness. I'd love to be able to say trying to be kind is easy or even a leap of faith, but it's definitely more like a small step for me, and one filled with doubt running in rivulets down its face, some of them eroding, exposing anything false which lies beneath. All the same, it's encouraging to read someone else stating the need, the inevitability of growing towards kindness so eloquently, stirringly.

So much is written about ageing, you'd be forgiven for thinking, if you were young, that it was all grim once you stepped past 40, 50. I'm very happy it isn't, not just for me, but for all of us. I wish my parents had lived long enough to see if this was as ubiquitous as it is now appearing to be.