steeped in love

“You only suffer when overlooking someone else’s pain and suffering. By remembering how afraid, lonely, and seemingly trapped one must feel in order to act as desperately or aggressively as they seem to act, you shall be spared of your own suffering by opening the heart of empathy. In doing so, every judgment, projection & accusation become endless blessings of love, kindness, and compassion for the well being of all.” ~Matt Kahn

I have really been feeling the truth of this lately. Yesterday on the bus, a woman was continually chiding her toddler, telling her to “shut up” and “sit still”. In the past, I would have felt so much judgment and felt quite superior to her. Yesterday, I saw her with eyes of love and just kept sending love. Not to fix her or make it “better” but just because she was suffering and felt deep compassion for her and her child. I thought about how she probably had a long day, she was young and, in my experience, very young mothers are often judged–sometimes harshly–if their children aren’t “behaving”. I saw two beings who were tired and needed rest and care and love. Our eyes met and I smiled at her. When she smiled back, I felt a pang of connection in my heart. It was beautiful.

When she got off the bus, Gigi looked at me with sadness. I said, “It looks like someone has had a bad day and needs a hug.” She smiled a sad sort of smile and said, “yeah”.

I went home and gave myself a lot of tenderness, took a hot bath and let myself rest.