If We Could See People As We See The Stars - Daily Meditation #16
I can remember the moment that I learned that the stars in the sky are not as they seem. The light from stars can take billions of years to reach us. This means that the stars that send the light we see are already gone. Yet, we can still enjoy the beauty of long dead stars. This fact filled me with wonder and amazement.
I think it's a shame that we can't see people as we see the stars. More often than not, we judge people as they are today. It's easy to find fault in adults, because the world has made them hard and bitter from disappointment and tragedy. But if we saw people as we see the stars, we could see the innocent children they once were. If we saw people as we see the stars, we could find compassion where we now feel anger. And if we saw people as we see the stars, we could appreciate the light that they could share, even if its source has been extinguished long ago.
Do you imbue a one-year-old with ultimate responsibility for their actions? Do you scream at them for breaking a toy? No, of course not. A child that young does not understand their actions. What about a two-year-old? Four? Eight? Sixteen? Thirty-two? While we obviously hold adults to a higher standard than children, there is no magic age where we should revoke our understanding and compassion from others. Many governments draw the line at 18. Neuroscience says the brain isn't fully developed until the age of 25. But the fact of the matter is, somewhere along the way, we forget that we were all just children at one point, and not all of us had a fair shot at life.
I implore you to see people as we see the stars. See them as they were. Witness their past disappointments, setbacks, and pain. Envision the multitude of moments that slowly eroded their innocence, and the final killing blow that shattered it entirely. With this perspective, hate becomes impossible, condemnation is nonsensical, and criticism is hypocritical. See people as we see the stars, and you'll have a greater understanding of what it means to be human.
Does compassion come easily to you? Or is it difficult for you to empathize with others? Share your thoughts on compassion and empathy below. I'd love to discuss these ideas and more with you.
Like this post? Please feel free to follow me!
Or read more daily meditations...
When You're At Your Worst
Attention Is A Gift
The Problem With Gatekeepers
The Bet You Must Never Make
Kill Your Masters
Main image created in Canva; underline credit
@chrismccron Hi bro, there's a nice topic indeed. Talking about compassion - my family and friends always I have overloaded compassion (sometime, they're advising me to be a lil more selfish for myself)
Actually, I don't know, whether it's good or not. However, I just live my life with the ways I want - showing my kindness, caring and sympathy to whom that need helps (even stray cats and dogs)
It sounds like you are on a good path with compassion. It is hard to be compassionate at times! It can be emotionally draining. Remember to be good to yourself, and take breaks, so that you can come back and exercise compassion again.
Reality check.
We can't see clearly either, nor we can judge about any.
A person can be a 50 and still a tot fool.
Age does not dictate wisdom. That's for sure!
@chrismccron beautiful post! My spiritual learning lesson has been that compassion is necessary to not lose touch with our fellow Brothers and Sisters, as we are all One Light expressing itself in endless ways. Otherwise we may get somewhat aloof . When we don't have compassion for others than this means that it is exactly here where we are still separated internally from Oneness. But naturally, this Compassion is not to say that we take away other Souls' learning lessons. So when a Soul has a certain experience we show empathy but at the same time we accept that this experience poses this learning lesson that helps the soul tremendously to grow and create more innere peace in the long-term. :)