Funny True Story - A Lesson in Compassion

Article Written By: Linda Foltyn


Webster's Definition of Compassion: Sympathetic concern for the suffering of another, together with the inclination to give aid or support or to show mercy.

My daughter tends to criticize people a lot. I on the other hand, for the most part, I have mostly been able to allow people their idiosyncrasies. I think that my brothers and sister and I, get that from my mother, who as I look back, was good gentle person, in that she was a kind person to all the people she met along the way, and I don't remember hearing her criticize anyone for their failings. Now that's not to say I don't hear those criticizing words in my head sometimes. Like, "Oh my, I can't believe that they are like this, or look like that", because I do, I'm human, but for the most part when I begin to hear those words in my head, I try to replace it with the following phrase "May God bless them in all their frailties". That takes the critique out of my head and puts a good light on them.

Just after September 11, and before the invasion of Iraq, when there was much talk about the impending war, weapons of mass destruction and the tyrannical rein of Saddam Hussein, I was in the car one day driving my daughter and her girlfriend somewhere. My daughter saw someone walking down the sidewalk as we were driving by and once again as she often does, had to make a comment about how they looked. I started to tell her how criticizing other people was not good for her, and that for everyone she criticizes, there may be that many more people who will be critical of her, and for her to have more compassion and humility for other people, because nobody is perfect. And that I hoped that other people would be compassion to her if and when she needed it. I told her what she should say when she hears that critical voice in her head, she should say, "May god bless this person and all their frailties" as I try to do for myself. To which she blurted out with a bit of tongue-in-cheek "May God bless Saddam Hussein"! We all burst out laughing hysterically, because it sounded so ridiculous at the time.

Yes indeed, even Saddam Hussein needs Gods blessing and compassion.

Be Well

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