Action out of compassion

It is not enough to be compassionate.  You must act....One is to overcome the distortions and afflictions of your own mind, that is, in terms of calming and eventually dispelling anger.  This is action out of compassion....
Dalai Lama

Hmm!  There is a lot more to that quote.  He goes on to say that the second aspect of action is to become involved in helping to change social injustices.  I will get into that part another time.  The first action before we pursue the global saviour role (:)) is to calm these minds of ours and dispel our anger.

We all hate a little bit

As I mentioned yesterday, we all have a tendency to 'hate' a little bit.  Hate, though it sounds like such an atrocious word that most of us will deny ever feeling...is something we all experience at least  a little bit from time to time. We "hate" what people do.  We "hate' the weather.  We "hate" the circumstances that land on our lap. We get angry, frustrated, resentful and sometimes really want to make others "pay" is some way ( usually by hoping they feel guilty) for not being or doing  what we think they "should" be or do. For not "making us happy", "filling on our empty spaces, or making the world around us as safe and as comfy as we feel we need it to be.  Sigh!!!  That is not compassion.

It is easy to be compassionate when our heart is open and we see the suffering of a sentient being that has "never hurt us". ...but it is a little different to be compassionate when  we perceive that others are hurting us.

We all hate a little bit from time to time.

A Fear Based Closing Up of Love

Hate to me is simply a closing up of love...even if it is only for a minute.  We close up and retract to protect ourselves. 

Hate then is a by product...or the by product of "fear". Anger, resentment, blame, defensiveness and a desire to attack all come from fear.  It is fear that is actually the opposite of love not hate. Hate is simply  fear in a different uniform doing its job to protect our ego's persistent illusion.

It is our collective  ego mind that fills us with thoughts, ideas, beliefs that say that hate in certain forms is okay...that it is justified and "right".  We believe the mind  even when it makes us miserable. We cling to our "grievances"...even collect them and create them...just so ego can be right.  Fear tells us to close up...don't love that or them...because that or them will hurt you.  When the people we have selected and have given the mission of making us happy to, fail us...we close up to them as well. We then don't love what is in this moment because it isn't "right". Only love a select few and only love them when they are making everything "right" for you.

The special love relationship is but a shabby substitute for what makes you whole in truth, not in illusion. (ACIM:T:16:IV:8:4)

All Mixed Up and Confused

Man, we have it all mixed up and backwards, don't we?  How good does that mindset make us feel?  How much peace do we have when our compassion is so selective ?  How do we feel and experience Life when we close up and deny who we really are.  We are Love!!!  That simple.  We are not what ego says we are.  We are Love. We are not asked to Love as much as we are asked to be who we really are.

Compassion: Loving One Person Unconditionally Right Now

So let's start with the people around us...those we have the so called "special relationships" with.  Let's examine our "hate" in whatever form it tends to present itself and then begin to dismantle the illusion to find the "real" love beneath. 

That real love is you and you will feel it and you will see it in others when it is from that place you operate.  It is all about "you"...and you opening up to this moment and loving what it is.  It is not about the others whom you believe should be a different way.  They aren't! Find that unconditional truth of love in one person and then you begin to change the world!

This is what Byron Katie tells a Mom who was struggling to deal with her son's behaviour and the hateful misery it caused her, as she finally catches on to the beauty of unconditional love and true compassion. :

You just found a wonderful truth within you. This truth brings you freedom....That means that he doesn't owe you a thing. You are not doing it [loving] for him.  Now you understand you are doing it for yourself.  with this awareness you serve your children[your partner, co workers, friends...the world]knowing that you are there because you want to be there, serving them and teaching them by the way you live.  You do it simply because you love them, and because you like yourself when you do that.  It is not about them. This is unconditional love, even though it's a totally selfish act.  It's truth owning itself.  Once this is experienced, self-love becomes so greedy that there's no limit to the people it can serve.  That's why to love one person unconditionally is to love all people. (Katie: page 61)

Hmmm!  Something to think about.

All is well.

ACIM

Byron Katie (2002) Loving What Is. New York: Three River Press.