Developing compassion

Compassion is the pathway to kindness. Compassion is an emotion in the vibrational range of love and deep appreciation. Compassion encompasses the emotion of deep understanding. A person develops compassion by directing their thoughts towards gentle understanding and acceptance of the world around them.

In order to do that we must first consider what humans are. Human beings are eternal beings inhabiting a body on a temporary basis. We are extensions of God. We are on Earth seeking growth. While our range of emotions is broad our true essence rests in love, peace and harmony with love being defined as deep and abiding appreciation.

The way we know this to be true is that when we feel frustration, anger, hatred, guilt, depression, fear or myriad gradations of these emotions we feel bad. When we feel hopeful, uplifted, happy, radiant, joyful or any gradation of these emotions we feel good. Our entire being is geared toward seeking that which feels good.

We must understand that all any of us ever do is seek these good emotions. Anytime we express negative aspects of ourselves or negative behavior all we are really doing is outwardly expressing that we have gotten off track. In the same way that a washing machine will get off-balance and bang around in the spin cycle our negative behaviors are simply us banging around because we’ve gotten out of balance.

With this understanding it is much easier to feel compassion for others. When we are able to hold compassion for ourselves and for others regardless of the situation, what naturally overflows is kindness.

Cheryl Jensen, September 3, 2013, at Lake Goodwin, Washington