Empathy and Compassion
Empathy & Compassion
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
I would like to start by telling you a story about a women who has endured, in one way or another, most tragedies known to humans. Her life began as an unwanted child by a mother who felt cheated by life. Due to circumstances beyond her control, she grew up neglected by the one person who should have taught her all of life’s great wisdom. She was dropped off for days at a time to a house where she was repeatedly molested by her grandfather. When she was 16, she didn’t want to be the reason her family didn’t move to Scotland for work and so she married a man who knocked her down daily and striped her of any self-esteem, but who gave her the four best gifts of her life. She lived a life of fear for 11 years; fearing for her life. Every day was a war zone with unimaginable abuse. She stayed because she didn’t think she could care for her young children without a high school diploma.
This amazing woman finally packed up her kids and escaped the life that brought so much pain….she was now in a space of supporting her kids on a waitress income. Every time she was knocked down, she made sure she picked herself back up. Eventually, this woman met the love of her life and then she needed to build the trust to let him into her little family’s life. Once she did, she had her golden years and then tragedy struck again. My dad died and we were convinced that we would lose my mom too. The grief that she went through was the hardest part of her entire life. However, all of these events and the ones in between, made my mom the person she is today.
We are living in a world that has been consumed in negativity. Any time we turn on the television or the radio, we are more likely to hear of another tragedy then to hear about good news. Pain and sorrow are everywhere, and for that reason I have decided to write about empathy and compassion this week. They are the foundation to building a higher vibrational world.
Empathy is when you feel what another person is feeling or thinking. Empathy is an automatic response when you witness someone in pain. Imagine your neighbor losing their home and all their belongings in a house fire. You can feel their pain for their life going up in flames, you can imagine their feeling of the unknown future and where to start over. Empathy comes easily to us all. It is easy to understand and share in another’s feelings. However, being willing to go deeper is true growth.
Compassion is the willingness to relieve the suffering of another. Compassion takes empathy a step further by trying to alleviate the pain of someone. At its Latin roots compassion means “to suffer with”. Compassion takes you into the trenches with the suffering, you stay present with the suffering. In our house fire example, compassion is providing them shelter, clothing, food and love.
Compassion is being willing to do anything necessary to relieve the pain and suffering of another.
“Compassion means we have consideration, love, humor, and joy for others. Compassion covers many, many bases. Compassion is simply to care about all things: earth, animals, everything that’s the essence of God. Without compassion one would not have the honor to be with and understand other people’s energies, emotions, or anything about the environment around us. However, compassion is a deliberate action of humanity.” -Cindy
We live in a world of conflict. A world where people want their agenda and belief system to be on top. When things don’t go the way they believe it to be, then they get angry and forceful. People lose the ability to have compassion. When one loses the ability to have compassion, then they lose the ability to conceive the energies of others. Most importantly the heart chakra closes and there is not an exchange of positive energy.
I started this article with the story of my mom. She has done hundreds of readings throughout the years and each one of them she has been able to change that person’s life. She is able to sit in their suffering with them and show them that they can get through the pain and that she is living proof that it is possible. My mom often says that she is happy that she went through all the pain that she has because it gives her the compassion to sit with any one and know what they are going through. She can show them that they don’t have to be a victim to their circumstance. With love and compassion, they can conquer their fears and raise their vibration and in turn these people give love and compassion to someone else.
“We are all bound by the word compassion in our hearts, for we are divine beings of love, which is the universal light of God, and without love there could be no compassion. When we light the candle within, we receive the divineness of our soul, we understand that love is a union of all that we are, which is the purpose of all things. And when love is active within us we are able to have compassion, consideration, joy, peace, and abiding light in God.” –Cindy
This world needs us all to practice compassion. Challenge yourself to get into the trenches with others, show them the love they need. Having empathy is one thing, but true compassion is life changing. You will not only make someone else happy, you will make you happy.
Namaste
-Crystal