A Note from Charity Charm’s founder Kay McDonald:

Compassion is essential in today’s chaotic world. Every day there is a new story about difficult situations and people who we feel for. As human beings, we should always have a passionate concern for the suffering of our fellow beings. Everyone is on their own path in life. As a result often times people become consumed with their own journey. Furthermore, we tend to focus on the problems we have rather than opening up to the problems of others. Compassion is something we should be spreading daily. Whether it’s towards animals or people, everyone could use a little kindness, sensitivity, and warmth in their lives.

I recently received this update from the DailyOm about compassion. I thought Madisyn did such a wonderful job on this inspirational message so I would share it here. I hope you will take this message and make the month of June all about compassion. Spread your caring and kindness to those who need it most. Moreover, it doesn’t have to be a grand act. Even the smallest random acts can mean the world to someone going through a rough time. After all, we don’t always share our troubles with others, you may never know the positive impact you’ll have on someone! To sum up, be kind to others.

Compassion by Madisyn Taylor

“True compassion recognizes that all the boundaries we perceive between ourselves and others are an illusion”

“Compassion is the ability to see the deep connectedness between ourselves and others. Moreover, true compassion recognizes that all the boundaries we perceive between ourselves and others are an illusion. When we first begin to practice compassion, this very deep level of understanding may elude us, but we can have faith that if we start where we are, we will eventually feel our way toward it. We move closer to it every time we see past our own self-concern to accommodate concern for others. And, as with any skill, our compassion grows most in the presence of difficulty.

 

We practice small acts of compassion every day, when our loved ones are short-tempered or another driver cuts us off in traffic. We extend our forgiveness by trying to understand their point of view; we know how it is to feel stressed our or irritable. The practice of compassion becomes more difficult when we find ourselves unable to understand the actions of the person who offends us. These are the situations that ask us to look more deeply into ourselves, into parts of our psyches that we may want to deny, parts that we have repressed because society has labeled them bad or wrong. For example, acts of violence are often well beyond anything we ourselves have perpetuated, so when we are on the receiving end of such acts, we are often at a loss. This is where the real potential for growth begins, because we are called to shine a light inside ourselves and take responsibility for what we have disowned. It is at this juncture that we have the opportunity to transform from within.

 

This can seem like a very tall order, but when life presents us with circumstances that require our compassion, no matter how difficult, we can trust that we are ready. We can call upon all the light we have cultivated so far, allowing it to lead the way into the darkest parts of our own hearts, connecting us to the hearts of others in the understanding that is true compassion” – Madisyn Taylor

The above-quoted material was originally published on the DailyOm and written by Madisyn Taylor. Finally, to participate in the discussion about compassion, visit the DailyOm discussion board here.