Next time when it rains, just simply sit somewhere in a comfortable spot and observe. Look at the raindrops, feel the cool breeze on your face, arms. Notice your hair moving around as if they’re playing with the breeze.
Sit, simply sit and look and observe.
The rain falls on the ground…it wets everything in its path…mountains, hills, trees, grass, houses, nests, birds, animals, humans, roads, bridges, streets, flowers, bees, bugs, mud, sea, oceans, rivers…
It does not choose who to drench…it spreads itself equally without any distinction whatsoever. It treats everyone and everything as equals.
Can we become compassionate in the same manner? Can we practice Compassion in this way?
We all have varying degrees of compassion to people around us, towards friends and family, to strangers, to animals, pets. We all have biases which may have come from our experiences, our beliefs, our surroundings, all the things we read, hear, see.
So, how to move from this stage to the superior stage where Rain is?
I thought long and hard about this and all I could come up with is this:
For starters – whenever we are at a point when there is a need to be compassionate or show compassion, then just be aware of your mindset. If you simply flow, and show that compassion, then you are on the right path. If you find that there is that little Knick in your thoughts and you find yourself stepping back or doubting your action, then take note of this. Just note this, if it happens and when it happens. Later go back to check why it happened.
Just this moment of awareness will set off the chain of events which could bring about the change you desire.
I want to share one small incident that happened with me personally. It will showcase that a small act of kindness & compassion eased the pain I was going through.
This was a few years ago, I was on my first girls-trip to Bangkok and we had a great time there. Now the point to be noted is that we had flown in from different parts of the globe. So the moment we met was the best thing ever, and hence it is so easy to imagine what the moment of parting must have been like.
Our return flights were a few hours apart from each other, so we decided to go to the airport at the same time. Mine was first in line, so all the girls came along with me right till the area where the escalator takes us to the security & immigration section. This was really the actual parting area. We were saying our good-byes and sobbing away, some were fighting back tears and comforting the others.
It was a sad moment and we couldn’t see the end of it. Suddenly out of nowhere, the Qantas crew walked by and one of the pilots photobombed our sad looking picture-taking session and spread a generous sprinkle of joy, fun and helped us overcome the sadness we were engulfed in. I will share that picture when I find it.
As he came into our frame, and we became aware of his smile, his naughty demeanor – we forgot our sadness and laughed with him and were then able to say our bye-byes with a smile and a warm hug. There were no more tears. What he chose to do for us is pure compassion. What we got was pure joy and love.
