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note: our free guide to mindfulness and meditation really is free - no email or registration required. The link is at the bottom of the page.  Once a week we highlight quotes that will (hopefully) resonate with you. We may or may not add our own commentary. Most likely, we will.
This week's topic: compassion. We start with Thomas Merton: "The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another." This is an aspect of compassion that is usually overlooked - interdependence. We will elaborate on it later this week (edit - we did here and here). Next, this is attributed to various sources - Plato, Ian Maclaren, and Philo of Alexandria: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." Simply put, you never know what struggles another person is facing. Work to drop judgment and recognize that, although you may not agree with their methods, they are trying to cope with things that you don't know about...just like you are trying to cope with things they don't know about. Next, from Pema Chodron: "True compassion does not come from wanting to help out those less fortunate than ourselves but from realizing our kinship with all beings." Helping those less fortunate is important, but it's not a substitute for understanding the similarities we all share, and cultivating an appreciation for the common struggles we all face. And once you (truly) develop that understanding, you will never lack motivation to help others! And last, from Eckhart Tolle: "Compassion is the awareness of a deep bond between yourself and all creatures." Again, interdependence - something we will elaborate on later this week (edit - we did here and here). > Find out more about what we teach. If this resonated with you, join our mailing list to receive more like it. Comments are closed.
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