Everyone alive knows how hard it can be to be human. Trying to survive can be cruel. People in Darfur and Iraq and those living on the streets of any big city know. Those with life threatening illnesses and depression know. Those with loved ones in harms way and those with severe mental illness know. Those who have lost their faith or their children or their love, they all know.
My question is, since we all know what pain is why would we not try to show compassion to others who are in the same boat? I realize we aren't all in the same part of the boat but none the less in the end we all come to the same destination before departing.
How can we enrich the journey? The answer is simple but not easy. It takes courage to look at the problem, it takes insight and self esteem. Are we brave enough to make eye contact with those who like us travel along? How would we like our children to be treated, our parents, our partner? How can we best serve those we love, even if we don't know that is what this is?
We are not seperate from them or better it's an illusion to believe differently. Once we figure out that we are safe, we realize that it's not threating to be kind and caring is not optional anymore.
My question is, since we all know what pain is why would we not try to show compassion to others who are in the same boat? I realize we aren't all in the same part of the boat but none the less in the end we all come to the same destination before departing.
How can we enrich the journey? The answer is simple but not easy. It takes courage to look at the problem, it takes insight and self esteem. Are we brave enough to make eye contact with those who like us travel along? How would we like our children to be treated, our parents, our partner? How can we best serve those we love, even if we don't know that is what this is?
We are not seperate from them or better it's an illusion to believe differently. Once we figure out that we are safe, we realize that it's not threating to be kind and caring is not optional anymore.
2 comments:
A great book that I found to help increase your self-esteem and intuition is Positive Energy by Dr. Judith Orloff. By looking into myself, I was able to help those outside of myself.
The difficult thing for me to understand is how people can not care. How do people not feel the pain that others are feeling? There are times when I truly wish that I could take on some of the pain of another person just so that they could have a break for a while.
Intellectually, I understand the idea that we are all connected (and I absolutely believe that this is true), but I've not yet experienced it in a real and life-altering way. I look forward to this happening at some point in my life.
Thank you for this wise post, Lauren.
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