compassion

emily dickinson wrote: "this is my letter to the world, that never wrote to me." 

i think that she was talking about compassion - or a lack of compassion.

what is compassion? and why do i talk about it so much? 

merrium webster defines compassion as the "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it." it comes from the latin word, compati, which means to sympathize or to bear.

i don't think that you can have compassion without empathy. empathy is derived from the greek word pathos which means to suffer.

so how do we find compassion and empathy in others and what does it mean to us when we find it?

the dalai lama said that "love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. without them, humanity cannot survive." and yet, i have found many people lacking in compassion and empathy - those who have closed off their hearts to the pain of others in order to focus on their own wounds. i feel great compassion for those who have shut their hearts to others, for it is in connecting with someone whose wounds are similar to yours that true understanding and healing takes place. 

to me, compassion means listening without judgement; showing empathy for people who are not our friends; hearing the stories of others and not trying to fix what is broken, but instead offering a smile.  

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” ― Leo Buscaglia

the definition of compassion includes the "desire" to alleviate suffering. desire and action are not the same thing. alleviating suffering does not mean you have to fix the problem. sometimes alleviating the suffering means simply being there for someone in a time of need. 

over the last few months, i have been a hen, gathering my compassionate chicks under my wings. i have been finding people who will listen without trying to fix, who will understand without judgement, and who have a vast capacity for empathy. 

compassion comes not from fixing, but from being there for someone when they need a smile, or a hand, or an ear, or a friend. 

i leave you with this thought:

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” 

― Albert Einstein

be kind to yourself  (and to the world around you)

(ps, as i was searching for quotes about compassion, this quote made me think of nosy nora ... 

“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.” 
― Sam Levenson) 

xoxo
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