Compassion

ohnjr
Compassion

Kindness, empathy and care
arise from standing so close
feeling what the other feels.

Compassion is the feeling of empathy
which the pain of one being of itself
awakens in another;
and the higher and more human the beings are,
the more keenly attuned are they to re-echo
the note of suffering which,
like a voice from heaven,
penetrates the heart.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch

Recently I experienced a situation in which I was clearly wronged. I tried to be thoughtful and understanding about the situation but I hope I was also tough. I am not sure if I was heard but I tried to understand why the situation happened and help everyone grow. Going back to responsibility, it was my responsibility to call this to attention and try to make the situation right. It was also my responsibility to understand that it is hard, that we don’t always make the right decisions, god knows I don’t. That our actions provoke reactions. I can only say that I experienced a similar situation when I was young. I wish that I had had someone talk to me, try to make it right and move on rather than be deemed a criminal, probably still to this day. Hopefully words sank in – time will tell.