Compassion? Why is it So Hard to Be Compassionate?

Compassion? Why is it so hard, to be compassionate to others in life?

We have heard this for years now, the key to inner peace is compassion.

We’ve read about the Saints, even mother Theresa, who through her compassion lifted lives all over the world.

So why is it so hard for you and me, to be filled with compassion for others?

Why is it so easy to judge those who have a different colored skin?

Why is it so easy to judge others who have different political ideas than we do?

Why is it so easy to pull judgment on the extremely overweight? Or the addicts? Alcoholics?

Why is it so easy, for most of the world, to completely lose compassion, for our brothers and sisters?

Compassion is a completely lost art, that can be regained if you’re willing to do the work below that I recommend.

Even as a counselor, there are times in my life I’ve struggled greatly to be compassionate for others… Let me be real.

I hold very high expectations for myself in life, I always expect myself to be on time, I always expect myself to follow my words, and 99% of the time I do…

Now that might sound brilliant, but did you know there’s a downside to the way that I live?

The downside is, oftentimes I do not have compassion for myself when I make an error, many times I do not have compassion for myself if I slightly slip and don’t follow the words I’ve given to someone else completely!

And when I lose compassion for myself for being human, it can make it difficult for me to be grounded, and have the compassion I should for other people in life.

That may not be a pretty statement to read, but it’s the truth, and I’m working on it every day.

So here are some of the top reasons why we lack compassion for others in our neighborhood, in society, in our country, and in the world:

Number One. We lack compassion for ourselves. When we judge ourselves so harshly, when we’re never happy with our body, when we are never happy with our income, when we are never happy with our relationships, when we’re never happy with… Fill in the blank! It’s really hard to have compassion for others when we lack compassion for ourselves.

Is it time to lighten up, maybe just a little? It is for me.

Number Two. If we were raised in a family that lacked compassion, that was filled with judgment, the odds are we’re going to start out our young adult life lacking compassion and filled with judgment as well!

I was just talking to a client on the phone, and during our session today, he mentioned to me that his grandfather was incredibly prejudiced, outrageously judgemental. Since he was raised in that environment, it was natural to lack compassion for others, and he said until his 30s he wasn’t even aware that he was filled with the same prejudice as his grandfather!

Whether it was your father, mother, grandmother or grandfather, aunt or uncle, or even close next-door neighbor or relative if you’re raised in an environment with high judgment and very little compassion… You might be following the same path that you were raised with.

Time to change?

Number Three. Who we hang out with, can either heighten our compassion or diminish it.

I’m not going to go into great detail here, but if you’re hanging out with people that are constantly arguing about politics, the vaccine, the pandemic, or any other topic including religion where they have extremely highly judgemental opinions of others, you might be falling into the same trap simply because of who you associate with.

Time to change?

Number Four. What we watch, listen to and read can either heighten or diminish our compassion for others.

This is so simple, but if you’re addicted to social media or the news or any political or conspiracy videos or blogs… It will be very difficult to have compassion for others.

Now turning this around does not take rocket science, it simply means looking at the above and changing… Maybe everything about you!

Do you need to have more compassion for yourself?

Do you need to change your friends or associates who are highly, highly judgemental, who lack compassion for others?

Do you need to completely change what you watch, listen to and read in order to be more compassionate in life?

It’s time to change. It’s time to Help America Heal. It’s time to help all of our brothers and sisters in this world to heal via our compassion as well.

Working with our veterans and our active military, as well as their families, we have created a program filled with compassion for all the stress that these incredible individuals are going through.

Our compassion has been funneled into this program, where we will be giving away every month an inspirational book and or online video course to help these brave men and women who are serving, or who have served our country, move forward with less stress.

If you’re a veteran or active military or family member join us here Help Veterans Heal

We are also creating a program of compassion for all Americans, including caregivers, who have been under so much stress over the last several years in order to give them a break and help them manage their stress and everything these incredible people go through on a daily basis.

Join our program for all Americans here at Helping American Heal

Having compassion begins with the intent, to be compassionate.

Having compassion means that we are on the lookout, to be more compassionate for the homeless, the marginalized in society, the struggling…

Having compassion means we look at these people in their eyes, and at the very least offer support, of love. Direct love.

Having compassion is an art, and I challenge you to expand your compassion today, to every single person in this world… And watch your life change.“

David’s work is highly endorsed by individuals like the late Wayne Dyer, and celebrity Jenny McCarthy has said “David Essel is the new leader of the positive thinking movement.“

His work as a counselor and minister has been verified by many organizations, such as Psychology Today, Therapy Tribe, Theravive, and marriage.com has verified David as one of the top counselors and relationship experts in the world.

To work with David one on one regarding any goal, any topic, simply visit David Essel | Author | Counselor | Motivational speaker

And when I lose compassion for myself for being human, it might be hard for me to have compassion for others at the same time. This is called the truth.