There are times when I don't feel very compassionate. Perhaps I'm just in a bad mood, unaware of how my negative thoughts are impacting me. When I am in this state, I approach life from a place of judgment and everyone around me suffers.
Children are quick to express empathy for those who are wounded or sad, but adults can be skeptical. Some offer compassion only to those who they feel deserve it. Always on their guard, they suspect motives and question the reasons for the suffering of others. Their love is given or withheld depending on the story they tell themselves.
But it is not up to us to decide who is or isn't deserving of compassion and love. All are worthy by virtue of their existence.
There are those who would hurt us, lie to us, cheat or steal or kill. We must protect ourselves from such people. But even they deserve love, acting as they are out of unconscious pain.
Worry less about the reasons for the need than the need itself.
Worry more about the people in the situation than the politics of it.
Compassion is nothing more than a transaction between two people: giver and receiver. Sometimes it's unclear who is playing which role, as the supposed giver often receives the greater benefit of having relieved the suffering of another.
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