As I sat in a room with hundreds of people at Landmark Education, the speaker asked us to think about compassion and reflect back on our lives for the very first time we had ever felt this emotion. I thought back as far as I could and saw myself as a very little girl walking into my parents bedroom to see my mother sitting on the edge of the bed with tears in her eyes. I could see she was sad. I walked closer to her and with my favorite stuffed animal in my hand, I gently reached out to hand it to her. I didn’t know why she was upset, but I embodied her emotions and wanted to help take her pain away.
Having compassion for one another is having sympathy and understanding for another's woes. It’s the motivation to help relieve one's physical, mental and emotional pain. It’s being selfless. Compassion can not just be for another, but for yourself, animals and the planet we live on.
In having compassion you do no harm and have love and support for one another. You care about the greater good and feel a sense of responsibility to it. You take action to make things better for all, as we are all truly interconnected.
Often when I teach meditation, I guide my students through a process of filling their hearts with love. We fill up our entire being on a deep cellular level to the tipping point, where it begins to radiate outside of us, encapsulating our body in a beautiful aura. This aura begins to fill the room and harmonizes with each other's energy fields, where we magnify the emotion of love for one other.
However, our journey doesn't end there! We proceed visualizing sending good vibes out of the room, to our loved ones, our friends, and anywhere throughout the world we would like to reach. It’s a beautiful meditation to do as a group. In closing, we draw back into the day that lies ahead. We think about how we can extend compassion to others. It may be hugging a loved one, sharing a gentle smile in passing, opening a door for a stranger, extra time with your pets, or caring for mother nature around us.
Without compassion in our hearts, we never take the time to put ourselves into another's shoes or to see how even the simplest of kind gestures can make a difference.
I encourage you to start seeing the world through another’s eyes and allow compassion to overflow from you to others. Practice this often and become intentional with your actions. Not only will others benefit, but as we give, we in turn receive back that very same energy we have sown into the world around us. All in all we can make the world a better place simply by having compassion.
My best to your health & wellness,
Yvette
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