We all know the hard feeling of seeing a loved one hurting.
Of not knowing what to do.
Feeling helpless. Feeling hurt because they hurt.
What does it mean to care for someone?
And why do we so often "don't know what to do?"
Compassion is different from empathy.
Compassion calls us to care.
When we act on our empathic impulses, we shift.
Change happens with inner awareness.
Our relationship to caring becomes much more about what we can do.
Rather than the awkward and powerlessness of misunderstanding what is actually needed.
And what then do we do? We sit with our loved one.
Metaphorically as well as physically.
We learn that our care is enough.
We learn to not fix or placate or offer trite feel-good comments.
Rather, we begin to see the effects of offering our whole attention.
This is interconnectedness in action.
Love well. Care deeply.
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