True Compassion: Becoming “Life Sensitive”

“Random acts of kindness” is a phrase we all love. Most of us try to practice it every day with many acts of compassion like – compliment colleagues or family members, allow a person to take our parking spot, give up our seat in a crowded train to an elderly person and so many similar acts of kindness.

Initially, these gracious acts are stimulated by an emotion rising within us – “let me do my good deed for the day”. Gradually, we realize this stimulates our own mood, as helping others is a “good feel factor”. A sense of peace descends upon us as we are not expecting anything in return. We have simply tapped into the goodness of our soul allowing it to emerge without an incentive or ulterior motive.

As we move deeper into the concept of kindness, we get closer to the virtuous gem embedded deep within us – Compassion. This is indeed a divine virtue as the concept of right or wrong disappears. We just do what is needed without judging whether that person deserves it or not. The underlying emotion is to feel the pain of others as our own. This sentiment is solely our own choice with no obligations or preconditions.

It is natural for us to feel the pain of people we are attached to and become insensitive to the suffering of people we don’t care about. This selective compassion is not true compassion as it is based on our personal biases, likes, dislikes, and attachments. We are under this delusion that we are practicing compassion when we are really indulging in sympathy and pity, which in reality make us more superficial and weaker.

True compassion makes us stronger as we rise above our petty squabbles and selfish motives, allowing us to tap into our higher Self. We cannot instill compassion in anyone else but we can inculcate this quality in our life. This perspective of selflessness transforms us and gives us immense peace. So, in a society where compassion is practiced, suffering and pain diminish, thereby transforming the society itself.

Being sensitive to everything in life allows us to live in deep awareness. The virtue of compassion makes us responsive and receptive as needed without getting over-emotional or stone-cold in any scenario of life.

Aggressiveness is a sign of weakness as the anger generated is used to feed onto some threat, anxiety or inherent bias felt by the person instead of peacefully responding to any allegations or distraught situation and doing what is required to keep our system healthy and joyful.

Let’s follow the authentic recipe of Compassion to make us life sensitive and responsive to the universe, the environment, living beings including plants, micro organisms, and animals, so we all can live in harmony with each other. The final product will be a heart full of warmth, open-mindedness, and creativity.  Compassion encourages us to practice oneness of humanity eliminating negativity and prejudices since a compassionate person becomes very powerful by practicing forgiveness which emanates from an inner strength that is priceless!