Day 46: March 16
The thought for today is COMPASSION.
Compassion allows us to look at another in their time of pain and understand what they’re feeling because we’ve felt it, too, at some point in our journey. It doesn’t matter whether it’s grief, fear, or anxiety; we’ve all felt the range of human emotion. By seeing ourselves in them with a Oneness consciousness, we are able to reach out with gentle Love to help them in their time of suffering. We can assist them in finding solutions to their problem, offer a word of Truth to help them see more clearly, or simply offer a comforting embrace to ease them through a time of sadness.
Having compassion does not mean enabling others in their addictions or serious character issues. It’s not about ‘feeling sorry’ for someone else, nor does it mean we take on ownership of another’s troubles. Their journey is theirs to take. They have lessons to learn as do we. But often the best time to learn is when we’re at the end of our rope and can’t see any way out. Like the proverb states, “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”
Have you ever heard the saying, “Give someone a fish; feed him for a day. Teach someone to fish; feed him for a lifetime?” That’s where true compassion is. Give someone the tools they need to meet the challenge at hand. This way, they’re ready when the next one comes around and perhaps can use those tools to make life-altering decisions that will help them avoid those same challenges in the future. When we’ve shown another how to do something on their own, we have given them a great gift.
How far are you willing to go to show compassion? Let’s say you meet a homeless man on the street. Do you ignore him? Do you give him your spare change and move on? Do you buy him a meal and try to discover why he’s homeless? Do you help him find assistance, or shelter, or a job? Do you open up your home? Does it cause you to form or join a group that deals with homelessness in your area? How far are you willing to open up? The only right answer to that question is the one in your heart.
There will be times when another’s problem may be too big for us to deal with by ourselves or the individual may not be ready or able to learn how to change. Going to Haiti to assist in the aftermath of the terrible earthquake they experienced may be beyond what we can do. The man’s homelessness may involve deeper issues like addiction or mental illness. At those times, perhaps buying a meal for the homeless man or writing a check to the disaster relief team will have to suffice. And that’s okay, too. We can’t save the world by ourselves and it’s not our job to do so. But it is our job to reveal Love however we can and by whatever means we can in each moment.
True compassion is something to be celebrated, for through it Love flows, humanity is elevated just a bit more, bonds of friendship are forged, and Peace reveals Itself.
In what ways have you shown compassion to someone else recently? How can we be compassionate to those who do have serious issues without enabling them? What Truths could you share with someone to help them see themselves or their situation differently? How far are you willing to go to show compassion? Is it enough?
breathe Peace ~
Rev. Rebecca
