Molly and Fox 2014 July | Page 18

Compassion First for you, then for others Compassion isn’t about fixing someone else, or trying to help them. Compassion is being willing to treat others, as we wish they would treat us; it is approaching people with respect and communicating with empathy rather than arrogantly thinking that we are special, and they are not. Compassion is about us shifting our focus from automatically judging, to being innocent and wide open with people. The following has been transcribed from the book Second Thunder by MSI. “Forget about helping others. You cannot presume to know anything about how to help another until you know how to help yourself. You can never be compassionate to others until you can be compassionate to yourself. It is not possible to love others until you love yourself. When you know who you are, then love, compassion and understanding will blossom in your heart.” Sometimes it is a challenge to relate to some people, but it is far more rewarding to see the good in that person compared to judging them. There is always something worthy to see and appreciate, we just have to look with fresh eyes and not pre-judge. We can never accurately determine the circumstances a person is in from the outside, because we never really know what is going on in their life. By being willing to listen and learn, and to let others live the way they do, then we are practicing compassion. Everyone on this planet wants the same thing - peace of mind, love, happiness and contentment - we are all negotiating our way through thi s life to achieve it, and if it looks a bit different from one person to another, so be it. By Mahakala Ishaya boundless.info