Sunday, August 3, 2014

Compassion

Everyone has their own struggles.  You have yours.  Your next door neighbor has theirs.  I have mine.  On a daily basis, we interact with so many people.  Usually these interactions go fairly smoothly.  Sometimes you meet people you don't really understand though.  Years ago I learned that you never know what someone else is going through.  You don't know if they just lost a loved one, if they got let go from a job.  They may have been diagnosed with an illness, or may be getting separated or divorced.

I remember having a patient years ago that I dreaded seeing in clinic.  He was always impatient and made snarky comments every visit.  But remembering that my job was not to judge, I knew that my job was to take care of his medical problems and help him as much as was in my power.  So every visit I tried to keep my cool and just do my best.  One day, he told me that he had lost his wife one year earlier.  He got very quiet and started crying.  All of these memories and sadness overcame him.  It made sense why he was always so bitter and angry.  He was a man who had lost his love.  We talked about his wife and he shared some stories with me.

So, again, I don't always remember, but I try.  I try to keep in mind:

1. We all have our struggles.
2. We are all human (so don't be so hard on yourself and others).
3. We need to have compassion and help one another.

Thank you for reading my post.  Hugs and peace.....Aloha! ;-)

Here's a great song from Mercy Me....

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GXI0B4iMLuU