From Judgment to Compassion
Have you ever encountered situations that create a thick cloud of judgment over your head? Have you felt misunderstood and attacked?
This week I was confronted with conversations where I was judged and ended up carrying the weight of this like a boulder on my shoulders. I tried desperately to understand how to be with the pain it created in a way that wouldn’t project it onto others.
The week ended on a low note when I came face to face with a blatant comment of judgment from a friend who assumed I had a perfect life, completely dismissing my feelings and the truth of my experience. I felt angry and wanted to lash out. Somehow I found the ability to bite my tongue.
I walked away wondering what to do with these angry and hurt feelings? I wanted to rise above them and also defend myself by yelling “You don’t understand!”
I often wonder what conversations would look like if we were to approach one another with curiosity instead of judgment? Asking questions instead of making assumptions?
Turn the page to Monday morning: I woke up to a meditation on compassion. I knew immediately it some kind of universal invitation. Here was a request to channel my anger toward something productive, something that would add life and not retract from it. I listened to the meditation and it opened my heart to my hurt feelings and to the pain of others, catalyzing it as a fuel that was life-giving and not destructive.
Compassion is like a superpower that not only combats judgment, but turns it into a force of love.
Choosing compassion moves us from isolation to connection, from judgment to caring, from difference to understanding. Knowing I cannot change the behaviors of others empowers me to realize I can change how I see them. Engaging compassion allowed me to see others with kindness and understanding and freed me from anger. It dissolved my pain and generated a sense of peace. It brought a new sense of strength that I could carry on in spite of what comes my way. And more than anything, it created freedom and energy to see past the hurt and into the imperfect heart of humanity.
Tell me your thoughts on compassion - Does it feel accessible to you?
