Difficult path

It is easy to love those whom you like, who make you happy and are caring and warm.

Opening your heart to love those whom you dislike, this is not easy.

Perhaps you feel someone is dishonest and twists the truth so that you are cast in a bad light. It is easy to grow resentment against this person and to justify your negative feelings towards them – even behaviour you would never normally exhibit.

When we feel unjustly accused or used or belittled, when someone is rude to us, lies and casts veiled threats our way, it is easy to be caught up in their petty world and an anger and hurt swell inside.

But who do these feelings help? They certainly do not help us, the ones feeling them, as they leave us bitter and raw inside, no longer content or peaceful, and this is destructive.

It does not help the other person either. Your anger, resentment or whatever your negative emotions towards that person are, they will not change the person’s behaviour, but more likely aggravate it.

It is better, then, however difficult, to turn your feelings into ones of compassion for this other. This person is as human as you. They have been bestowed life, were born a baby, like you, and have grown up with loves, losses, hardships and joys, just like you. They carry that divine spark of existence, the same as we all do, and deserve our respect and love as much as the person who we are close to.

This is not an easy task, but this is what true compassion comprises of.

See this person as a gift to you, one who truly challenges you to be the sort of person you are striving to be and accept the gift, turn negative to positive and regain your peace.

Even if the person does not change their behaviour, you have changed yours and can be yourself once more without being possessed by negative emotion – but also have faith that your compassion will have a positive effect on their thinking and actions.

This is the way to change the world.