Just Thoughts...

A dream of compassion. 

Compassion: is the virtue of empathy for the suffering of others.

Empathy: the ability to understand and share the feelings of others.

I dream of the day where there is a deep understanding of who people are, and of how we all suffer.  I dream of the day where, instead of walking around judging and questioning other people’s behavior, we take the time to try and understand what it’s like to walk in their shoes.  Not a day goes by that I don’t interact with someone and wonder…what is driving their reactions, what is it in life that causes them pain, what is it in life that motivates their strength and goodness.  We are all so much more than we see on the surface.  There are times that we are the exact opposite of what we show on the surface.  We all get up every day and work to do a job, but I truly believe, that any job can be done better, when we choose compassion and understanding.  How do you motivate someone else? I believe, you dedicate yourself to learning more about them, to understanding how they are most appropriately motivated.  How do you manage a team around you?  I believe, you dedicate yourself to learning more about the individual connections and unique interactions that make your team, a team.  I don’t believe you can improve upon anything, until you understand the current state of existence.  We all work with people.  Some of us have a greater strength in the details and technicalities of our work, others of us thrive on conversations and interactions that help get a job done.  Both are necessary and vital to the success of any operation.  I dream of the day where we quit analyzing the negative qualities about those around us, and commit ourselves to a better understanding of who people really are.  I dream of the day, where when we stop to ask someone how they are doing, we truly hear and embrace their response.  Programmed responses to questions designed to deliver compassion are destroying the foundation of relationships, but what else can be expected when compassion is absent.  It is as if ‘compassion’ implies ‘overly emotional’ and people steer clear, but I just can’t help but imagine how things could change, if we all stop for just a minute and consider how refreshing it would be to know that the people around us, that we interact with day-to-day, truly cared about us…beyond the surface.  I dream of the day where compassion is the driving force behind restoration and unity.   

~Whitney