Empathy: Life Must Go On by Machel Shull
Oct 15th, 2015 | By maria | Category: Articles, Ayni Books
Extract from Live Love Soul
This journey is not always fair. Tragedies happen every day. So we must learn to have more empathy for others and their plight. Have more empathy for those who have lost. Choose to feel for them, carry a moment of their sorrow. Feel their pain. Be human enough to care and not the type of human to turn your back the other way. It is important that we honor and respect our fellow loved ones walking this earth. Everyone has their own cross to bear. And sometimes we must bear their pain, too. Show that we care and that we understand. And it’s good to grieve for those who need it. Do not turn your back on the sorrows of this world. Be human enough to care and to give part of your soul. What is your reward? By sending loving thoughts and prayers, you have paused to give part of you to their struggle. You have taken a brief moment to send loving energy to someone who needs it. You paused from your blessings to remember someone else’s sorrows, which will remind you of how this life is such a precious gift…each day!
Do not numb yourself to pain. Instead, open the floodgates. Have the courage to give something of yourself to make this world a better place.
Be a person who cares. Life can be short. Dare to feel someone else’s pain.
Experience the beauty of emotion. Do not close yourself off to what Mother Teresa taught us best. She was just one woman who exemplified the power of empathy by removing herself from the equation. Her compassion and vulnerabilities touched the sick and those whom the rest of society would deem unworthy. Mother Teresa looked inside and saw the beating of the human heart. We can do the same, too. This world is in need of our caring, our sharing and our empathy. So don’t numb yourself to pain or the pain of others. Be open to carry their grief and share in the hard experiences, too. Open your soul to feeling more than just what you want to feel. When we open ourselves to caring for others, our return benefit is just this:
We become part of the human experience and not just a selfish person after our own selfish wants and needs.
On our quest for happiness, let us not forget to shoulder the burden of our friends in need, our neighbors who might need us, or our loved ones. Even reach out to a stranger who may look distraught. Offer a smile, a warm heart. See if there is something you can do to unload a tiny bit of their burden. Life is not just about traipsing down the lane of bliss. Lend your heart and your hand when you can. Open up to the beautiful possibility that you have the power to help another, and do so. In the loving words of Mother Teresa, “I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
What can you do to develop more empathy?
- Listen more to others.
- Be more caring and attentive to your inner circle.
- Practice praying for others always, even for strangers you might have met on the street.
- Write down in your journal why empathy can improve your relationships.
- Practice self-love, which will in turn give you more love to give.
- Read. Learn from great teachers.
- Go visit a homeless shelter. Experience other walks of life that can shine a light on the human experience we are all living.
- Write down in your journal all that you are grateful for and list those whom you love. Say a prayer for them and imagine their world in a painless place.
I must remind myself of these things to do, too. I must work on keeping myself connected to the human experience, and show and feel compassion. I hope that you can open your heart, and send love, even if just for a small, short moment. This world is in need of more compassion and love.
Machel Shull is the author the International Bestselling book, Middle Age Beauty, an inspirational self-help book for women. As a former International Face model and an actress, Machel shares the nitty-gritty on aging, and exposes the pressures women receive to buy into a billion dollar industry of Botox. Her background and study include seven years of meditation with the great grand-daughter, Michiko Jane Rolek of the first Zen Master in America, Sokei-an Sasaki. (Featured appeared on O Books Blog)
Live Love Soul, A Soul’s Guide to Happy is her second non-fiction book. Published by O Books, ISBN: 978-1-78279-284-0 (Paperback) £12.99 $21.95, EISBN: 978-1-78279-283-3 (eBook) £7.99 $12.99.
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