Congratulations, by the way: Some Thoughts on Kindness

by George Saunders

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.

Now, we don’t really believe these things—intellectually, we know better—but we believe them viscerally, and live by them, and they cause us to prioritize our own needs over the needs of others, even though what we really want, in our hearts, is to be less selfish, more aware of what’s actually happening in the present moment, more open, and more loving.