Compassion: The healing light.
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” – Dalai Lama
In the current state of the world, with so much violence and stress - compassion is the healing medicine that we as a collective need the most. When we cultivate compassion, not only do we learn how to empathize with others, but we also learn to pour kindness and understanding on ourselves.
✨ What is compassion?
According to a research, Compassion entails five elements that apply to the self or others:
1) recognising suffering,
2) understanding the universality of suffering in human experience,
3) feeling for the person suffering and emotionally connecting with their distress,
4) tolerating any uncomfortable feelings aroused (e.g., fear, disgust, distress, anger) so that we remain accepting and open to the person in their suffering, and
5) acting or being motivated to act to alleviate the suffering
(Link)
✨ How do I practice compassion?
- Every morning I set an intention to be understanding, to be accepting and to be attentive to my inner self. Compassion starts with you. When you fill your cup, you can pour on other's cups too. Here's a intention prayer that Dalai Lama used to make every morning:
“Today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”
- Meet more people, make more connections with others. The more you learn about the diversity of human lives the more you'll find yourself opening up to new perspective. Meeting people will help you understand that despite all the differences in identities and opinion, at the root of it all, we are all human beings. We need food, and shelter, and love. We crave attention, and recognition, and affection, and above all, happiness.
.- Another practice I’ve found helpful is loving-kindness meditation. It encourages sending thoughts of goodwill and care to myself and others, helping me build a more compassionate mindset.
🪞 Reflection:
🖋️ Tell us about a time when compassion from someone has deeply impacted you?
🖋️ Share two ways you can show compassion to someone today.
@QueenAsphodel17 I really enjoyed reading this post. I especially like that you take it upon yourself to set an intention every morning to be accepting and attentive to your inner self. I admire that you practice self-compassion, treating yourself the same way you would treat a family member or friend. Keep up the amazing work. 💯⭐
One recent example where I was deeply impacted by someone’s compassion was when my colleague showed encouragement. We were in competing teams yet they went above and beyond to offer encouraging words and praises. I was quite moved by this gesture, especially as we were in opposing teams. Some ways I try to show compassion are by small gestures like opening the door for others or exchanging a simple smile. Although it sounds menial, it is surprising to know the butterfly effect it has. 💓
Thank you so much for reading the post, Gentle! You've been so appreciative, kind and compassionate with your reply <3
It makes me beyond happy to see how you had such a profound experience where you competed with someone who respected and supported you as an opponent! Such a graceful behavior. And I appreciate you so much for sharing joy and care in wonderful ways like opening door for others or exchanging a simple smile - these might take a few seconds but they Often make the other person's entire day! Thank you for making the world a better place <3
@QueenAsphodel17 I love, love this post! When I first got married, I had some very painful body issues and was in 8/10 pain every day. However, without a doubt, I could count on my husband to drop everything to do whatever thing, big or small, to make me feel even one percent better. His compassion changed my life and made going through that time of my life so much easier. 💕
@QueenAsphodel17 I agree that this is an inspiring and thoughtful post. I also do much better when I set those intentions as you described but too often, lately, I've been trying to speed through reviewing my schedule for the day. I am going to put out a reminder in my bedroom or even my car that will remind me to make time to set my intentions before I begin my day.
That is all very well, but after having been taken advantage of repeatedly (twice financially), I've learned that compassion is far too valuable to be wasted on the wrong "people".
Note the quotation marks. They point to one part of the post I particularly disagree with. Also as a result of certain experiences & considerable research & contemplation on my part, a while ago I concluded that not everyone who walks on two legs, has opposable thumbs & speaks a language is a real human being. Any definition of the term that is worth its salt has more requirements than bipedalism, opposable thumbs, hairlessness & language usage.
@QueenAsphodel17 What a wonderful post! Self-compassion is so important, and it's very true that you can't pour from an empty cup.
@QueenAsphodel17
@QueenAsphodel17
thx for this wonderful post on a wonderful topic. Compassion makes us humans
i remember how once i lost my way in a forest while on a solo trek and with adverse weather and no water or food to drink , i was on verge of losing hope when an old shepherd , a complete stranger and from a culturally adverse section, showed concern and overcame boundaries to help me out , the lesson which i carry with me all my life