It’s sad that it takes something horrible to happen for us as society to wake up and be reminded the importance of compassion and extending just a little bit more kindness to one another. But I suppose a shock to your system is powerful.

A lot of time behind the scenes people are going through a lot of pain and more often than not they may not say what they do go through.

But what happens if someone does reach out to another and is greeted with the response of “it could be worse…”, or “at least you’re not ….”, “but he/she/they have it a lot worse than you”. They’ll retreat and thing their issues aren’t worth talking about and stay silent. Which can be the biggest killer of all, silence. Suffering in silence. In those cases isn’t it better to listen, than to offer ‘advice’ which diminishes what that individual is going through.

I often think, children a lot of the stuff they cry about isn’t relatable to adults. A child could cry a lot over a missing toy. And to an adult, it’s just a toy. It’s not that big of a deal. However to that child it’s something that’s important to them and gone. Likewise, a child couldn’t understand the value of losing a job or a car. Because it’s not relevant to them.

Often we can be of that same mindset and think just because it doesn’t apply or mean as much to me, it’s not as important. However this is where compassion and empathy comes in. You may not understand the magnitude of the situation someone else is going through. But you can still be empathetic and understanding that this is something big to them, and be kind.

A lot of things in life are relative, scarcity – not having enough – is relative. Me, at 21 years old. 10 thousand is a huge amount of money. Whereas to someone who is a billionaire , it’s not a lot of money. If we both were given 10 thousand and we both lost that money, I could be more upset as I know I can’t make that back anytime soon. Whereas someone who has surplus might not have the same reaction. We both were given the same, but relative to my background and what I had in the first place, the same loss felt different.

Meaning, you could’ve even gone through the same problems as an individual and you could’ve coped differently , whereas to someone it’s pushed them to breaking point.

Someone else’s pain isn’t more or less valid than yours. So also extend some kindness and compassion, to yourself.

So today I leave you with this, our problems differ, but we are all human beings. It’s high time we treat each other as such. And just be a little more kinder, each and everyday. I may not know what you’ve been through, nor you my issues. But, that doesn’t make what you are going through or what I am going through any less valid

Be kind to others. And be kind to yourself.

~ peace, joy & love x

TK