Hildegard von Bingen said that compassion is the combination of  “celebration” (which implies humility) and “justice-making” (which implies forgiveness), and there is wisdom to be gained from that definition.  When we can humbly place ourselves in another person’s situation, we can begin to truly care for them.  And when we maintain that level of humility, it is then possible to deeply accept whatever that person might be doing — even it those actions are harming us in some way.

And yet, to be viable, Compassion must also come from an awareness that is interactive. To have pure Compassion for another, you must humble yourself enough to accept them unconditionally, you must empathize with their pain, and you must then be motivated to actively & selflessly attempt to alleviate that pain …

This and this alone is real Compassion.

Filed under: Practical Tips for Peace-full Living by Scaughdt