Compassion – Day 5

One of the most compassionate acts ever done toward me was when a district court judge in Minnesota sentenced me to treatment instead of jail for my chemical-dependency-related crimes. I had a jail sentence hanging over my head if I didn’t get sober, but he gave me a chance.

Another compassionate act done toward me was when, after I completed treatment, the owner of a law firm agreed to give me a chance at a secretarial job.

Throughout my life, people whom I’ve hurt have forgiven me and shown compassion too. Giving people a second chance (with limits) and showing forgiveness aren’t all that compassion is. But they’re a good place to start.

Action: I don’t know the rules for being a compassionate person. I’d say don’t judge, but most of us judge sometimes, even when we know we’re doing the same thing we judged in someone else.

Sometimes it helps just to listen. Ask people questions about themselves. Let them talk.

Pitying myself never helps. But no matter what I’m going through, it helps when other people say, “I understand because I’ve been there too. I got through it and I know you will too.”

In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, it says that if you keep cleaning your side of the street and surrendering to a Higher Power, you’ll grow to not regret the past because even the worst things will be put to good use. You’ll be able to use your mistakes and flaws to help someone else.

The best way to practice healthy compassion is to be willing to have an open heart and let life and your Higher Power work in you.

From the book: 52 Weeks of Conscious Contact

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