To see the person before the situation, and to leave room for circumstances you may not fully know.
Compassion is not weakness and does not mean giving up what is right. It means preserving our humanity when we respond to mistakes, need or difference.
Compassion appears when we choose a less severe interpretation before knowing every detail, explain calmly to someone who does not know, and consider a senior citizen, a child or a person facing pressures we cannot see.
How do we live it?
- Do not judge a person hastily from one situation.
- Ask before you assume.
- Never turn someone’s vulnerability into material for ridicule or content.
- Combine clarity with kindness.
- Help within your ability without taking away the other person’s dignity.
A question for reflection
Do I respond to other people’s mistakes in the way I hope they would respond to mine?
