Day One

“Compassion is not an expression of ordinary love tainted by the attachment to emotion. It is the energy of loving kindness that comes about as one’s mind awakens to the recognition that life we deemed as normal is impermanent and the lack of our recognition of its true nature is the cause of suffering.” 

                We all see people suffering every day. Many of us are willing to help a family member or a friend, but how many of us would go out of our way to help a stranger? How many see someone who is homeless or hungry and stop to help that person? The answer is both simple and unfortunate: not enough. 

                Compassion. We hear the word so often in life, yet many of us are unsure of what it really is. Compassion is showing love and kindness to others. No emotional connection is needed to show compassion, but there must be love in your heart. It is not limited to human beings; we can be compassionate towards animals as well and, in my opinion, the Earth.

                Around the world, compassion is seen as one of the greatest virtues; it is a virtue that I have been lacking for a long time. After reflecting on this the first lesson, I know that I need to take steps to refresh and renew the compassion which has been dormant inside of me for years. The first step I will need to take is to reawaken my empathy. I am working with a Reiki healer to realign and balance my chakras, which is necessary to my ability to feel empathy, since there is currently a rather solid wall around my heart. 

                I feel that today’s meditation has helped me to see the folly of my ways. I have for so long been focused only on myself and, occasionally, focus on my family and friends. That changes today. I can already feel the shift in my personal energy and my way of thinking. There is more to life than the shallow existence I have been leading, and now that my eyes are open to this, I do not intend to let them close again.