The deal with compassion

Compassion is as simple as recognizing that all of humanity are your peers.  It comes from a lack of judgment and a willingness to offer a helping hand in times of need……. and comes from a willingness to forgive yourself.

All people feel pain and suffering. They all wish for greater things. They all have passions and Lovers and desires. They all have a life they wish they could be living. Living in Compassion is recognizing that we should always be treating others the way that we ourselves would want to be treated. If we would not want to be told we have a weird nose, then we should not tell someone else they have a weird nose. Even if it is followed by a giggle and a “just teasing”. These little comments still hurt.

When directed outwardly we see that charity arises not so much from Generosity, but rather from Compassion. The donations that help support charities are definitely acts of Generosity. But charitable work itself is actually Compassion. For charitable work arises from the need to help those less fortunate than yourself. To help raise them up to stand tall with you.

But most of all Compassion comes from a willingness to forgive yourself. We all make mistakes. Some more terrible than others. But we must be willing to accept those mistakes for what they are; lessons. Once we see how our mistakes (and every decision we make) has shaped our lives, we begin to see that it was all part of the process. Assuming we do not repeat our mistakes, we deserve to be forgiven. For we would not be the person we are today, had we not made them. Compassion directed outwardly must first start with inwardly directed forgiveness.