Empathy, Judgement and Compassion
Sometimes it is so easy for us to mentally judge or criticise what others do or don’t do, without fully realising it. Then one day we find ourselves in a similar situation to them, perhaps even years later and if we are lucky enough to realise it, we remember their situation and feel a deep empathy for what they were going through.
In Mindfulness, compassion is a key part of the practice. Compassion is something we feel in our heart and soul for someone going though a difficult time in life and finding it very hard to deal with all their emotions. We learn the art of compassion often through our own experience of suffering at times like that in our life.
Probably one of the most helpful and effective ways to help to ease another’s pain is to feel compassion with them. The word compassion comes from the Latin word pati, to suffer. The prefix com means with. So compassion really means to suffer with. Compassion is not about offering advice or guidance at this time with someone, it simply is to just be present with that person. Often just listening and allowing the person to express their feelings or just to sit with them in silence.