Be kind, everybody has such desperate lives
Compassion is often confused with weakness. It is the most extreme form of courage. It is only courage that allows us to move into areas of deep suffering and pain. It is so easy to turn away from “graphic” or “disturbing” images and situations. For example, people don’t like to volunteer at old age homes, hospitals, animal shelters or orphanages because it’s upsetting to see distress at close quarters.
My mother, who is remembered by friends and family alike as the world’s most buoyant and caring person, spent the last few months of her life ill in bed with cancer. But no matter how sick she was, the first thing she did every morning was to spread bajra on her balcony for the birds. She said the happiest part of her day was to lie back in bed and watch the daily drama. First would come the fat feisty pigeons who would jostle each other off the ledge and spend more time fighting than feeding.