Compassion:
The application of love to those around you without judgement, expectation or a complete understanding of those you encounter. It is empathy without the in-depth knowledge of their experiences before they crossed your path. It is love encapsulated in absolute forgiveness even when you are not the offender. It is the deepest act of kindness we as humans can offer humans, creatures and nature alike.
Compassion is not giving of oneself while lacking understanding, in fact it is the complete opposite, because when you open your mind to the reality of a beings need for compassion, the flaws fade away and suddenly it naturally flows from you into those surrounding you. It is loving in spite of their actions and it is seeing a person from a whole new angle. It is the decision to step out of your own emotional state and leap into a world where the absence of compassion is so genuinely felt by all, and then finding a way to apply it even in the most harsh of circumstances. It is the act of mindfulness that helps you see that every person you encounter has hurt in their lives and then being conscious of the fact that even though they are currently dead set on decimating themselves and those in their wake with their pain, they are deserving of love and empathy.
Compassion is tenderness seeping out of your being into those in need, it is the unencumbered expression of kindness enveloping all you interact with regardless of knowing who they are or how they got to where they are. It is the unending devotion to the betterment of everything and everyone. It is the sympathetic awakening to the experiences of others while extending a helping hand to those who need it most.
We spend so much time trying to protect ourselves from the pain the world has on hand, and in turn we forget to apply one of our most precious gifts. The result, we fear the absorption of our true calling within humanity. This is not how we were created and because we rob ourselves and others of this deeply human expression of love, we lose out on the joy that it brings to us all.
It takes most of us entire lifetimes to understand the true act of compassion. For years it is lost on us because we never truly understand how one could apply compassion in a world where so few feel it as deeply as is required for it to impact those who cross paths with you. Most of us lack the emotional maturity to grasp how compassion works in the hearts of those around us and in ourselves. That is until we realized how much of it has been applied directly to us without us even acknowledging or recognizing it.
Stop holding back, allow yourself to be captured by the beauty of compassion, let it flow out of your heart and into the world, receive it from those who give it freely. The world needs it now more than ever.
Photo Credit: Lesonne Botha – The Kaalvoet Photographer
Theme song: Hold my hand – Hootie and the Blowfish
One Million Emotions Per Hour 