COMPASSION ^_^
There are many areas of our life which we need to focus attention to while we are in the process of evolving. The personal journey of BECOMING never ends. Of all the characteristics we need to refine, the greatest of all is compassion. Compassion serves as the great mediator of our ethical approach to life. It balances all the other characteristics we value and keeps them in-line and directs our efforts moving forward in a manner which is not harmful to those around us.
Compassion is much more than mere kindness or service. Both kindness and service by themselves can be done for personal, and selfish reasons. Compassion truly is the great equalizer between ourselves and the world. A compassionate person is not driven by "what's best for me." While at the same time it does not ignore the individual needs and desires. Because a compassionate person values others, as well as the self, decisions are made evaluating the costs and benefits to all parties involved. The "ego" need to be right, accepted, and powerful dissolves in the light of a balanced value and concern for others as well as the self.
The driving force behind true compassion is empathy. A compassionate person is able to experience the pain and joy of others without a need to change it. Many times when we see a person in pain there is subconscious effort to find some degree of separation from them and in so doing explain away their pain to relieve ourselves of the discomfort. Compassion softens these judgments. We can feel the pain of a drug addict despite their different life path than ours. We can offer support to many without condoning their decisions. Our kindness, service and forgiveness is not something others need to earn but is freely given based upon our compassion for them and our capability to feel their pain rather than a long personal evaluation to determine if they are "worthy" of our kindness and forgiveness.
True compassion is not something we have or do not have but something we slowly develop over the years. None of us are perfect in our compassion. The great ideals of having compassion can guide us in our other endeavors as we engage in the work of BECOMING.
Compassion is much more than mere kindness or service. Both kindness and service by themselves can be done for personal, and selfish reasons. Compassion truly is the great equalizer between ourselves and the world. A compassionate person is not driven by "what's best for me." While at the same time it does not ignore the individual needs and desires. Because a compassionate person values others, as well as the self, decisions are made evaluating the costs and benefits to all parties involved. The "ego" need to be right, accepted, and powerful dissolves in the light of a balanced value and concern for others as well as the self.
The driving force behind true compassion is empathy. A compassionate person is able to experience the pain and joy of others without a need to change it. Many times when we see a person in pain there is subconscious effort to find some degree of separation from them and in so doing explain away their pain to relieve ourselves of the discomfort. Compassion softens these judgments. We can feel the pain of a drug addict despite their different life path than ours. We can offer support to many without condoning their decisions. Our kindness, service and forgiveness is not something others need to earn but is freely given based upon our compassion for them and our capability to feel their pain rather than a long personal evaluation to determine if they are "worthy" of our kindness and forgiveness.
True compassion is not something we have or do not have but something we slowly develop over the years. None of us are perfect in our compassion. The great ideals of having compassion can guide us in our other endeavors as we engage in the work of BECOMING.
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