One of the hardest concepts for me to grasp has been the concept of compassion. I’d never quite understood why we should forgive or even tolerate someone we strongly disagree with. How can one love someone or something we despise?
Compassion is said to be one of the highest form of spiritual qualities if not the ultimate quality. I have been hearing a lot about it recently that I’ve begun to ponder the meaning of compassion. It turns out, compassion is not about loving your enemy or condoning something that is bad. It’s much more than that. It’s about recognising things as they are and accepting the present moment, whatever form it may take. It’s about letting go of judgements and allowing whatever situation that’s in front of us to exist and be OK with it.
What I had thought about compassion was more around tolerance and putting up with undesirable situations or people. The focus had been more about other people rather than myself. But more than anything, it is really about ourselves and maintaining our sanity. By allowing things to be and not labelling them, we liberate ourselves from the heaviness and burden of getting caught up in the drama. Suppose we meet someone who we strongly disagree with, we can either engage and try to convince them which could be an endless exercise, or we can simply acknowledge their existence and focus on keeping our sanity intact. I think it’s pretty obvious which is the wiser choice.
Compassion is not merely a feel-good phrase but a very powerful tool. It is about allowing others to be and be at peace with ourselves. When compassion is properly applied, it might actually be one of the best tools we can use in just about any situation life presents us.