Compassion

Is compassion becoming rare or extinct ? Sadly it looks like it is but what is compassion for you? I have heard some people asking : what can they do to be more compassionate? Firstly compassion is not a special trait of the human race, many animal species have compassion, for their own kind or others, but where do they learn it? Maybe some animals like our best friends the dog have a inner power for love and compassion but not us, we learn it from a very young age. Compassion can start being learned as a little child by the way animals are to be treated, it doesnt have to be a big animal, an ant will suffice, it is not because they are small that they are insignificant, worthless and with out feelings ! The simple fact that they are small must be a reason to make a child understand that we should protect them and simply let them be. We are, to an ant, the monster. Compassion is to be capable to put your self in an other being s shoes, position or understanding why they do things they do, so that we do not judge and disrespect them or simply hurt them. When a child start to learn compassion with little creatures he will become compassion with the bigger one too. A snake is not evil or mean, he s just a snake and he has an important position in our environnement, at the opposite of so many cartoons, animals do not do things out of badness. Then comes humans, the usual school bulling is a lack of compassion, so is verbal abuse while driving when you encounter a slow car driven by an old person or anyone else. We do not know the problem behind the actions. Compassion is as well being capable to find good in people who are, lets say, difficult. Some people can not be changed but a positive output towards them can help and it show your compassion. A Jedi must be strong with compassion

I don't think compassion is becoming less common, but I think our awareness of behaviour is impacted by the differing ways we interact with each other now. When you see stories of uncompassionate people all over the place it's easy to think compassion is lacking. But compassionate acts are usually selfless ones, and much less interesting for news or social media stories.

In my own reflections, compassion was there always, as was grace and every other worthy value. Along with these good things, there was also a variant for me that was not there for most. I grew up on the streets so for me running around and doing things for the "hood" was a different level of involvement. My dynamic growing up was the typical gang street thug type.

Compassion was not key at this time in my life at all nor was any type of reflection.

Fast-forward to now, I kick myself in the behind for as many times as I cant remember of times when my loved ones said something worth remembering, the statement, " That's what they meant by that" frequents these lips.
Now, it has taken good work to find the good stuff. Compassion is one of those. It was not excluded from my path. I did do much of the not listening part myself. Hard headed and head strong you could say.
Compassion has a variable in it that is hard to gauge or label due to its sensitive nature and the ability to be that close to some.
Compassion can be learned at any avenue of life. LOOK AT ME.

To answer your questions directly, location wise, there WAS and IS a need for a bit of a different type of compassion. Not... JUST one level or value, ya know?
In my own life, Compassion had to adjust to those present. To a Mason, the world is laid out in form. To weeds, the world is ready to take. Either way, the world is still what it is by both accounts. Can we as Modern day Jedi make a difference , you bet. I needed that one or FEW examples at times in my life. NOW, I look back I am grateful for the effort and do almost the same thing as those before me, looking for that "Carlos" or "gallo or rooster " on the street or in the path way of life that could use a cup of coffee or sweat tea.

PS Compassion doesn't sell well in public and to the public as much as it does in between two humans. In the LIME light it changes ... as do most values. Worth the reminder too. Attention can change things, compassion is not exception.
I now frequent places and ideas and people where the value is different. That don't mean I don't need it often or need more examples. Give me some one with a good balance and I will toast with them all night! But that's me...

Some how i did not subscribe to this thread at the time, so i see that i ve been missing out. I guess that we have the habit or to say that " things are not like they used to be" or we belive that now is just better as people of the past lived in caves! But what i see around us now when we talk about compassion is the effect of our entertainment, our movies, our video games the social media, what people seem to be capable to do only to make a video and collect as much possible "like". We see so much death, that is real or not, that some how we get used to it. I remember being sensitive to death on tv when i was young because i rarely watched it. Now social media has proved that some people seing death or real dramatic happening in real life will bring out their curiosity and the "chance to make a video or a selfie" instead of bringing out their Compassion. There is so much going on, online that seen that i do not have social media i must be only scratching the surface but i did hear about body shaming ! This is again a horrible lack of Compassion. Shaming people for their body, their views, their belief. So to say we do have plenty work to do about compassion. Of course the question come with : where to start and how can we make a difference? Like Carlos says : how can we glow