Compassion in a "compassionless" world.

To me, having compassion means forgiving those for their trespasses. It also means knowing that those consumed by anger and hate are only angry at themselves but lack courage to look within.

Having compassion is hard.

How many times do we seek revenge when someone causes us pain? How many of us are strong enough to look the other way? How many times have we instead quickly plotted a scheme to bring that person down?

Many.

But, why?

Trusting that the universe will take care of these matters forces us to be patient and sometimes patience is just not a virtue held by all.

Compassion is having love for those who may define you as an enemy. Compassion is understanding that people who hate are only misdirecting their anger.

How can I hate someone who hates himself so much that he must misdirect it at me?

For these people I have compassion. For these are the people who live in pain each day of their lives until they find the courage to face their demons.

The next time you find yourself on the receiving end of misdirected anger instead of lashing out try to remember that person's anger cannot hurt you unless you let it.

Here's a few more things to ponder:

"Whenever you are confronted with an opponent. Conquer him with love." Mahatma Gandhi

"A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." Albert Einstein

"Compassion is the radicalism of our time." Dalai Lama