An Active Server
I’m really working on compassion this year. I used to think that it was patience that I needed more of but I think that the better word, the more accurate word, is compassion. I want to be more compassionate and as a result I will be more helpful, more kind, more considerate and more loving.
An interesting message came to me from two very different sources in the past 24 hours. One was a book by a Native American elder and the other was a parenting magazine. The idea that you don’t wait for someone to ask for help and you don’t say “call me if you need help” but instead to just offer help. For example, if you are in a room with someone who is recovering from illness or who is older, instead of asking “do you need a drink of water?” you just get them a glass of water. Or if a friend is going to be coming home from the hospital, don’t just send an email saying, “let me know if you need anything” but instead show up with some food with no expectation to be greeted any further then the front door.
I think that our society has lost a lot in the way of manners and despite all the hard work my parents put into raising me correctly, I’ve simply gotten caught up in myself. I am certainly guilty of being so caught up in my own mind that I miss obvious opportunities to be helpful to others.
My own experience as a new mother last year teaches me that people often won’t ask for help. Or there were times when I was so overwhelmed by the question “what can I do?” that I couldn’t think of anything and would just let the person go.
So one of my challenges on the path to compassion is to be an active server.
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Your words have so recently been put into practice in your care for me when I was so ill. Thank you for that, for your insights, and for who you are!