Compassion

After I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, compassion took root in me in a way it never had before. Suddenly, instead of getting irritated with the person slowing me down or triggering my frustration, I found myself wondering what they might be carrying beneath the surface.

That person zoning out at a red light may have just learned their father is terminally ill.
The angry customer at work may be grieving a recent loss.
That “scatterbrained” woman might be coming off chemo or living with an illness you can’t see.

We rarely know the full story.

So when the urge to judge or criticize starts to rise, let it pass right through you. Release it. Because the grace we offer others has a way of finding its way back to us. As we judge, so shall we be judged — but the same is true of compassion.

Choose it freely.