Compassion

Happy Wednesday,

How is everyone doing this fine Wednesday? Good I hope. It’s looking to be a very busy day. I have to get the baby quilt center cut out and pieced together so tomorrow Nancy and I can lay out the blocks that will go around it. I will try and figure out how to get photos attached to the blog so I can hopefully share with you. I’m super excited to get it done. I’ve been doing pretty well getting small projects done. I also finished one quilt that will be gifted to two people who mean the world to me and I picked up a quilt that I finished thanks to my friend Susan and her persistence in pushing me and encouraging me to finish it. Susan also helped quite a bit on the quilt top itself. I don’t think I could of finished it without her help. I’m looking forward to sewing with Susan tomorrow evening. She’s got so much talent and she inspires me to challenge myself and explore my talents. I’m so appreciative of her in so many ways.

I woke up early this morning and was thinking all kinds of things. I started taking melatonin again and let me say, I sleep, but it causes me to have nightmares at times and now it makes me think on so many different levels, random things. What came to mind this morning was this thought in its exact words. Someone may have woken up with a booger in their nose or a bug in their butt. Show a little compassion and understanding. You don’t know what’s happening in their world. It could be you that needs that piece of compassion or understanding today. There you have it. Not exactly sure why this came to mind this morning, but I’m going to run with it and give my thoughts on the very subject of compassion.

First, I thought I should look up what compassion means. The Oxford dictionary says compassion is “sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.” I know for me, when those that have chosen to stay in my life after I took a new path, their compassion for what I was going through and continue to go through, all I can say is, it means the world to me. I know they can’t take my pain away, however, knowing I have someone to vent to, means everything. Even when I’ve felt 100% totally alone, in the depths of my soul, I know I’m not. I have those few that I can reach out to. I’m beyond blessed though, it seems when I hit rock bottom, one of them seems to chime in to just check on me. The Universe seems to know what we need when we need it and if we are truly open to listening to the signs, things tend to work out.

“Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into the places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion and anguish. Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those wo are lonely, to weep with those in tears. Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human.”-Henri J.M Nouwen. This really hit home to me. I was thinking about why people act like they do and why some people treat others the way they do and this includes me as well. After reading the quote, I felt it went with what I woke up thinking this morning. When I took my walk this morning I stopped and thought about how much easier it is to judge someone rather then to really take the time to understand. You see, in order to understand someone, we need to have compassion and patience. “It’s easy to judge. It’s more difficult to understand. Understanding requires compassion, patience and a willingness to believe that good hearts sometimes choose poor methods. Through judging, we separate. Through understanding, we grow.”-Doe Zantamata.

We never know what’s really happening in someone’s world, unless we are in their world, living in their home and walking in their shoes. Really, that’s an unrealistic mindset. We can’t really walk completely in someone’s shoes. What we can do is open our hearts to them. Learn and practice the art of compassion. What does that look like? It’s sitting in the misery with them, being there for them and leaving the judgement at the door. My dear friend Jana sent me one of her favorite songs yesterday. It’s sung by Amy Grant. Better Than a Hallelujah. The importance to this song is simple. If we ever feel so alone, or perhaps are so alone and we don’t have anyone in which we can turn, we have our creator who is always there for us. His compassion is perfect. Hallelujah means to praise God. In the song, it starts out with, “God loves a lullaby in a mothers tears in the dead of the night, is better than a Hallelujah sometimes.” God sees the love a mother has for her baby and even though she’s dead to the world and needs to sleep, that goes on the back burner as she cares for her baby. God is so compassionate that he’s not looking for praise at that moment from her. To him, her love for that child is far more important. He is showing compassion, knowing how tired she is and being so happy for the love she’s giving. He wants nothing from her, he’s there to listen to her cries in the night. What greater friend to turn to then our creator. What finer example of compassion then he who gave us the capability to show compassion. “We pour out our miseries, God just hears a melody. Beautiful the mess we are, the honest cries of breaking hearts are better than a Hallelujah.”

God wants us and has given us the gift of prayer in order to pour out our smallest to our grandest problems. It’s wonderful that he’s always there, no need to leave a message. The line is always open and clear to make that call. You may be saying, he doesn’t talk back to us, we’re doing all the talking, he’s just listening. True, but think of this. When you have something weighing on you so heavily, isn’t it true that when you just vent, talk it out with your friend, all you want and need is for them to listen? I know for me, sometimes, I just need to rant and not have someone reply back to me. Pouring out my troubles to God always makes me feel better. I’m not asking anything of him, I just need to talk and when I do, I feel so much better. “The woman holding on for life, the dying man giving up the fight are better than a Hallelujah sometimes. The tears of shame for what’s been done, the silence when the words won’t come are better than a Hallelujah sometimes. We pour out our miseries, God just hears a melody. The honest cries of breaking hearts are better than a Hallelujah.”

The compassion shown to us as the lyrics show is a fine example of how we can learn to be towards those in our lives who may need it. I know I’m forever grateful to those who have shown me compassion. I know without being able to pray to God, I wouldn’t be here today. I know I’ve made some choices that were wrong and that hurt others, and I won’t make excuses for those or even begin to try and explain them. What I will say is this, many of my choices weren’t quick to action, they were thought out and took all the strength I had to follow through with them. I have learned to not judge others choices because I truly can’t say what was in their heart to get them to the point they’re at. I do my best to leave judgement at the door and be open to just listening. I appreciate those who have shown me the same compassion in my life.

Compassion is a wonderful gift to give to others and I can tell you from experience, it’s a wonderful gift to receive. We all have a past, we have all made choices that we know weren’t the best. None of us are perfect, none of us are completely innocent. We all wake up each morning and have the opportunity to be better than we were yesterday. I hope we can all wake up and show compassion and understanding to that one person we may run across at the store who cuts the line or towards the maniac that cuts us off in the parking lot. We don’t know what their day has been like, we don’t know what is happening in their lives, and while it’s easier to cast judgments towards them for just being selfish jerks, maybe, just maybe, their world is crashing down on them like a ton of bricks. Maybe a simple smile or a gesture that it’s okay will show them the compassion they needed for the day. Maybe we can make a little difference in their lives.

Well, that’s my blog for the day and my thoughts on what I woke up thinking about. Hope you enjoyed the read and please keep those comments coming my way. I love hearing from you all. Thank you to all who have been there for me and who have chosen to show me compassion rather then judgement, it means everything to me and it really did make a life changing difference. With love and gratitude I hope your day is as wonderful as you are. Love Life++