Compassion

Blog post for September 9, 2021

Jon and Carolyn Freeman are great friends of Julee’s and mine whom we met while living in Baja Mexico several years back. It was one of those “meant to be” moments when we met as strangers in passing and I felt there was some type of connection between us all. So I suggested we meet up later for dinner, they said “yes,” and a precious friendship began!  Carolyn is working her way through Little Book of Virtues and writes the following on the virtue of “Compassion.”

Carolyn Freeman works in healthcare; she writes:

“I experienced working through the virtue of Compassion this morning. It was a deeply meaningful time as I thought about the compassion I’ve experienced from friends and family as I’ve walked the caregiving path and the path of mourning the loss of my parents. The ‘suffering with’ I felt in words of love and, in some cases, empathy, soothed my broken heart and allowed me to feel seen and heard. There was nothing for people ‘to do,’ but just ‘to be’ with me gave me so much strength.”

“Working though my thoughts on Compassion also reminds me that I have had to learn compassion for myself. To learn to ‘suffer with’ the wounded child within rather than critically judging her for her faults and shortcomings. This has been a difficult journey for me, and possibly for many of us. I think learning to offer compassion to myself has been crucial in me being able to offer compassion to others, to sit with them in their suffering with love and without judgment, or wanting to rescue.”

“I think compassion, this suffering with someone, can and does move our hearts to action. Maybe it’s reaching out with words. Maybe it’s reaching out with other forms of support. For me, I have to ask myself the ‘why’ to my action. Am I acting out of my own need to feel good about myself, or am I truly being moved by the Spirit to act without expecting anything in return? Even an acknowledgment? Or can I simply serve another with unconditional love?”

Read a bit more about the “Compassion” virtue on the website by clicking here; and don’t forget to sign up to receive notifications each week when a new blog is posted.         https://www.littlebookofvirtues.com/compassion/

One more thing!  If you or anyone you know is benefiting from Little Book of Virtues, please consider leaving a review on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com or Goodreads.com.  Or all three!  It really helps.