Compassion: The healing light.

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” – Dalai Lama

In the current state of the world, with so much violence and stress - compassion is the healing medicine that we as a collective need the most. When we cultivate compassion, not only do we learn how to empathize with others, but we also learn to pour kindness and understanding on ourselves. 

✨ What is compassion? 

According to a research, Compassion entails five elements that apply to the self or others: 

1) recognising suffering, 

2) understanding the universality of suffering in human experience, 

3) feeling for the person suffering and emotionally connecting with their distress, 

4) tolerating any uncomfortable feelings aroused (e.g., fear, disgust, distress, anger) so that we remain accepting and open to the person in their suffering, and 

5) acting or being motivated to act to alleviate the suffering 

(Link) 

✨ How do I practice compassion? 

- Every morning I set an intention to be understanding, to be accepting and to be attentive to my inner self. Compassion starts with you. When you fill your cup, you can pour on other's cups too. Here's a intention prayer that Dalai Lama used to make every morning:

“Today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.” 

- Meet more people, make more connections with others. The more you learn about the diversity of human lives the more you'll find yourself opening up to new perspective. Meeting people will help you understand that despite all the differences in identities and opinion, at the root of it all, we are all human beings. We need food, and shelter, and love. We crave attention, and recognition, and affection, and above all, happiness.

.- Another practice I’ve found helpful is loving-kindness meditation. It encourages sending thoughts of goodwill and care to myself and others, helping me build a more compassionate mindset. 

🪞 Reflection: 

🖋️ Tell us about a time when compassion from someone has deeply impacted you?

 🖋️ Share two ways you can show compassion to someone today.