Compassion: Easier said than done
Compassion is another component of love. For me it has been a tool that leads to forgiveness. When I feel hurt or am offended that is the time when I need compassion. Today I’m writing about compassion for others and this will help us understand how to have compassion for ourselves when faced with illness and disease.
A friend of mine had been estranged from her adult daughter and her family and had told me that things had been better and she wished she could see them, but communication and finances were not aligning for that to happen. I stepped up to facilitate a visit from her daughter over her birthday week by offering airport pick up and opening our home to the group. After what appeared to be a wonderful visit, my friend told me things she didn’t like about the experience.
She said that she was upset that her daughter gave me “credit” for
the experience. She didn’t like me interacting with her daughter’s family, even though they were in my home.
It felt like I was being told to butt out of her life and that everything I had done had been bad.
I felt sad, misunderstood and wronged. Later, I felt disappointed and wondered if we could ever be friends again. Finally I felt betrayed and feeling love was out of reach.
How could she have made such negative experiences out of something lovely? I had been there. I had witnessed it all. When life gets messed up some people talk, some people walk, some people eat or smoke or drink ... I write. After awhile of rambling with words, I wrote my new understanding of what had happened.
“I understand that my friend needed to blame someone for issues she is working with and although she had asked for and accepted my help, I was in the line of fire. I can understand her feelings
come from her pain. Instead of me interpreting her words to mean for me to butt out, I can choose to hear her saying that me setting up a visit and facilitating the details was too much for her to handle.”
When I hear that interpretation there is room for love to prevail.
Hurt feelings can quiet the mind and shed light on understanding that allows compassion to become the focus. This automatically leads to forgiveness and love will be triggered. Is there a time when you felt hurt from someone’s words or action? What did you do?
Michelle Terrill Heath is a long time Taos resident and can be reached at michelleterrillheath@ gmail.com and more information can be found at