Survival of the Kindest
Fragments of light
Fragments of Light
‘Fragments of Light’ began as various personal insights shared by Richard in his YouTube videos about the art of contemplation and the Gene Keys. Over time, these reflections were thoughtfully reshaped by Juliet Savage into a book that feels both clear and timeless. These illuminating and inspiring stories have been refined, yet still retain a personal touch, accurately reflecting the experiences that influenced them. Each story in the collection invites you to pause, reflect and connect with your inner journey.Â
Survival of the Kindest
It is interesting that out of the different subgroupings of early humans, only one type of hominid survived, and that is us, Homo Sapiens, which means ‘wise man’. When you look at the world, humans do not seem very wise, so why are we the ones that survived?
Everyone has heard of ‘survival of the fittest’, an idea attributed to Charles Darwin. However, Darwin’s original insight has been much misunderstood. In truth, he favoured a more altruistic hypothesis. He tied the success of human evolution to the evolution of compassion. This is the idea that we survived not because we were the most aggressive, but because we were the kindest. Of all those early ancestors, we were the most inclined to care for each other. And there is evidence for ‘survival of the kindest’ in skeletons from early ancestors who were disabled, injured or sick and had clearly been looked after by their tribe.
Love is actually the force that ensures survival
There is also evidence that our branch of the species interacted successfully with other branches. So it was through taking the risk of communicating with strangers, even with those who may have seemed very different from us, that we were able to build bridges between different racial and tribal groupings.
This view of openness, care and compassion for each other changes the view that early humans were essentially selfish. And still, now, even though we are prone to violence when we feel threatened, and some of the traits we know about ourselves can be very unpleasant, underneath it all we are kind. It is clear that this is a strength rather than a weakness because love is actually the force that ensures survival.
Try being extra kind for a day
Kindness is an extraordinary power. You can put it into practice for yourself and see what happens. Go through your day and be extra kind and considerate. Maybe it is being open to a stranger, or reaching out to someone you have not seen in a while or to someone you know who is suffering. It could be giving something to someone, or the gift of your time by just listening to them, even caring for plants or creatures in your garden or something simple like rescuing a bee or a spider.
You could try being extra kind for a day as an experiment. Perhaps put some things off in your day to make space for it or bring kindness into your work through your attitude. Then see how the day choreographs itself and how it feels as you watch the forces of that day spinning around. Then, at the end of the day, think back on what unfolded and consider the power of kindness. You will see that you are connecting with the very roots of your humanity, of our humanity. What will ensure our survival as we move through very uncertain times is that we are open to each other, we listen to each other, and we care for those in need. This is what makes us so awesome. And changing the way you look at life and the things you do, even in small ways, will mean that you can soften even more.
Truly thrive as a species, even in times of change
We can speak words of kindness, and let that kindness resonate through our voices as genuine feeling coming from inside us. Open to this possibility, and perhaps together we can tune in to the currents of what it means to truly thrive as a species, even in times of change.
Our ancestors also faced massive changes, huge climactic questions and difficulties. The ones who survived were those that were the most adaptable and the best at communicating. The best way to communicate is through kindness.
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Transcendent Tales
In this treasury of wild, oral wisdom Richard Rudd shares a web of insights, breakthroughs and epiphanies that occured over the many years of laying out his main teachings − The Gene Keys.
Accordingly, these Fragments give us a rare view into the inner and sometimes private life of the founder of The Gene Keys.
Insightful, life-affirming, practical and often deeply comforting, these Fragments of Light thread a path between the mystical and the mundane, shining a much-needed light on many challenging subjects such as pain, trauma, karma, reincarnation, awakening, alchemy, the future of humanity and much more.
