Have you ever just wanted someone to save you from yourself? Or have you just wanted someone to see the desperation in your eyes and tell you that its going to be ok? I definitely have felt this way and I felt this way today. Yes, I realize that I am an inspirational speaker and I give people Pep Talks but that does not mean negative thoughts are exempt from permeating the seams of my mind. This also means that I appreciate when people tell me things will work out.Today a friend contacted me thru text and said that he prayed for me yesterday at 4:30 in the morning. That made me feel so awesome to hear that someone was not just praying for me (which is great) but it felt good to know that someone was thinking of me. I began to think about my friend, he is experiencing a rough time in his life and for him to take time to consider me is humbling. I felt his compassion.
This made me think about the word compassion. I do not like the definition of compassion which is defined as a feeling of deep sympathy or pity for another. This definition misses something very important about the word compassion. You see there are two principle stems that are missed here which are com meaning together and pati which means to suffer. Compassion means to suffer together.
In order for us to be and release compassion to one another we must know three things;
1.to be compassionate you must not stare at your issues... for if you stare at your issues long enough, they will develop an ego which will make you believe no one understands or can relate
2. to have compassion is to be aware, not to judge, another person's trying times;
to be aware means but for the grace of the Divine the same thing could happen to you
3. to release compassion one must be open and honest about their journey and not guarded
Please know compassion is an energy that only becomes greater if we realize we are connected
and affected by the suffering of each person on this earth. That energy pushes us into service for one another.
Compassion teaches a multitude of lessons involving understanding, humility, and love.
When is the last time you felt genuine compassion for someone?
