COMPASSION AND HOW IT CAN BE EXPRESSED ATYPICALLY Compassion and empathy for other people are noble feelings.

We all pretty much a gree on that, and almost all religions teach that these are some of the highest feelings we can have, as well as an ability to forgive. But I thought of something a little unusual, for me, and it opened my mind. I ha d always believed that compassion needed to be expressed in a way that people co uld see - through tears,hugs, emotional expressiveness. And also that you had to have a sense of emotional warmth inside you, a feeling of pity, a feeling of be ing moved by someone or something. That is how many people view compassion, maybe. And how it is visibly expressed. Well, I thought about my life, my particular nature, and other people s, and how clearly some of us show feelings much differently than others. For some, it is never easy to cry or hug or show warmth. I believe that we are all born with a c apacity to love, but that this capacity varies with the individual. So that some of us are kind and open, while others are cool and aloof. WE DO NOT ALL LOVE TH E SAME, AND ALSO WE ARE NOT ALL ABLE TO FEEL LOVE THE SAME. There is an importan t distinction there - not only is how we show love different, but also our abili ty to feel love at all is vastly different. So does it therefore make sense to show compassion in a standard or expected way ? To berate yourself, for example, if you are not easily moved to tears by anoth er s plight. If it may be hard for you to get that feeling of your heart breakin g open or being gently tugged. COMPASSION CAN BE PRACTICAL AND BASED ON COLD HARD REASON. IT CAN BE DEVOID OF M UCH EMOTION OR EMPATHY, IF LITTLE IS INITIALLY FELT, OR SUBSEQUENTLY FELT. AS LO NG AS SOMETHING IS DONE FOR THOSE WHO SUFFER OR NEED ASSISTANCE, AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THAT INSTINCTIVE RATIONALITY THAT TELLS YOU "THIS IS WRONG. I CAN DO SOMETH ING HERE" THEN YOU ARE INDEED GIVING A BLESSING TO THE WORLD. You need not feel guilty about how you do so. We do not have to all wear our hearts on our sleeves, or be, as people call it, "bleeding hearts". That can wear us out! And we may need the energy to do other things. But I do love feeling emotions, and I do love expressing them freely. It makes me feel alive and human. However, this doesn t mean that we all need to, or get down on ourselves if we c an t, Compassion can be self-serving and based on practicality as I mentioned. Okay, h ow will this help us? Why is cruelty stupid thinking? Why is racism irrational a nd illogical, not realistically based, and therefore self-defeating for all of u s? RIGHT THINKING IS GOOD FOR EVERYBODY, AND WILL SAVE THIS PLANET. Not necessar ily an excess of emotion. But of course, the best scenario would be a combinatio n of the two Love is an action, a choice, not a feeling alone. And when we pray, even though we do not feel that God is there, we must continue to pray and believe, no matte r how cold we are inside. This is often expressed. It is the same with compass ion. Feelings, or lack of feelings, are not reliable indications of what we mus t or must not do. This is worthwhile to consider