SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com

COMPASSION by (me!) sandra, tvgp

compassion ....   is a special, a particularly special internal feeling we experience, recognize and interpret

and does it not seem, that some people are just born..  are so naturally compassionate from an early age

but when it does not come naturally, easily; this does not mean it will not come at all..

sometimes it replaces something else; it overrides and then erases a prior internal feeling that had taken residence/space in our hearts and minds, which did not leave room for...

without me telling you.. do you know which internal feeling it kicks out quite quickly but politely?




jealously, I will address more later, because it is write up there with the worst and most counterproductive feelings, but toping the list to be sure is


I will share one story,  which is actually Joyce Meyer's story, but it is short and easy and encapsulates the whole process pretty accurately and completely

Joyce had three children; three pregnancies, and for those three pregnancies, she felt good..   she could still work, minister, mother, wife..  etc.  and kept write on going with the demands of day to day life even though she was pregnant..


so,  -when other women, who were pregnant, complained about feeling sick, tired, unable to remain as productive, she


them.    -weak; whiny; using the pregnancy as an excuse, etc.   

and then,

and I trust you know what's coming...

and then, Joyce became pregnant a 4th time...   and during her 4th pregnancy.. she was very sick.

and then,

and only then,  -after having the experience herself

did she sympathize/empathize and understand what the other women had been trying to tell her.  -only then did she  ~believe them.

***

one of the pathways to compassion

1.  results from walking in another person's bare feet while she's pregnant
2.  replaces judgement with empathy/understanding; the two cannot coexist

and if you have that happen enough, you realize, that pathway to compassion is one way..   pretty solid way to be sure,

but higher spiritual education allows you to get to the same place on a different, shorter, clearer pathway; without having to actually experience the same thing as another person; without having to pound the same pavement  ; you fly; don't have to walk...

you just stop judging in general

and instead, look to put behaviors/experiences in perspective;  -give benefits of the doubt; try to listen..   hear; appreciate/understand

***

and, I remember here,

when I was being interviewed while holding the position of poet laureate..    during a longer, more detailed conversation, and the interviewer learned of the multiple traumas I had survived; in no detail, only number

she said, "do you think that made you a better writer?"

and I said,

I said with a smile,

"no.   but it has made me a very compassionate person."



I am slow to judge...    quick to listen.



tbc.      in Jesus name, amen.

***









this is Shelby's tattoo...    one of the lovely people I had the great pleasures of crossing paths with during my time at creative imaging studio in Pleasanton.

***
and here is a poem my daughter wrote when she was in the 4th grade at Vintage Hills Elementary School:    -and not as a mom, but as a poet/writer appreciator of words..   it remains one of my favorite poems of all time

compassion isn't what you do
have to do
or
need to do

compassion is a part of you
that speaks a kind language

compassion has its own way
every day
every way

compassion is a way to help
people all around

~taryn kay, 4th grade

posted by SHE @ 9:09 AM