The Reach of Your Compassion
Compassion is the acceptance of weakness in yourself and in others.
We are all sometimes strange, inconsistent, frail, error-prone beings. That seems to be the nature of the human condition. Weakness comes in many forms: sickness, injury, lapses of judgment or character, mistakes, or bad luck. Your happiness and even survival depends on your ability to accept the limitations of your own abilities. Your ability to help, teach, lead or console others depends on your ability to accept their weaknesses.
I had this realization a few years ago, and it seems I continue to have experiences that lead me back to this truth: You cannot have compassion for others without embracing your own weakness. You can never be truly happy with yourself if you are unable to accept and understand the human weakness of others. The two are directly linked.
“The reach of your compassion is the reach of your art.” – Joseph Campbell
