Compassion
Make connections. Do acts of love. Make life worth living.
I learned a powerful lesson as a teenager working as a cashier at a very busy neighborhood supermarket.
There were always incredibly long lines at checkout. I would concentrate on moving the line along as quickly as I could. I was the model of speed and efficiency as I rang up items and bagged them all. I was focused. I was driven. I was also overwhelmed and anxious throughout my day and exhausted at the end of it.
One day my manager took me aside and said, while I was a model employee, I didn’t need to work so quickly. I was shocked and said, “But the line!” She pointed out there was always a line. The experience that customers had while standing in the line was what was really important.
I remember being stunned as the truth of what she said landed. There is always a line. It is the experience of the line that matters—not only for the customers but for me as well. I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders. My job wasn’t to make the line go away. My job was to make the line as loving as possible.
Shifting Focus to Creating Connection
I slowly began to shift my focus from pure efficiency to something more relaxed. I began connecting with people through more than just a quick smile. I made genuine eye contact and shared comments beyond “Next” and “Hello.”
Honestly, it was very uncomfortable. I was so much more at ease with inanimate groceries than truly connecting with people.
While it was challenging, I noticed something extraordinary happening. I found I was less drained at the end of the day. I began to enjoy my work and even look forward to the steady stream of humanity I interacted with each day.
The line stopped being something to try to get through. It became an avenue to something more.
How Compassion Changes the World
I look back at that moment now and smile. My manager all those years ago wasn’t just making me better at customer service, she was teaching me about present moment awareness and the power of compassion and love to transform the world.
This is the invitation for us all. Is your life something you are trying to get through? Are you so focused on what you think you should be doing that you are missing the opportunity to be present and awake to this moment?
As I opened myself to others, I was touched and touching, connected and connecting, seen and seeing. That shift in focus, in perspective, is available to all of us at every moment.
- Small acts of love
- A genuine smile
- A moment where you truly see someone
- A shared laugh
- A breath together
- A helping hand
This is what makes life worth living. It is not solely the acts of love we give that enable us to live more fully. It is also the acts of love we take in and truly receive that nourish us and lift our lives to new levels.
Opening a Compassionate Heart
So much of our suffering arises from a sense of feeling separate and alone. Every day there are countless opportunities for us to allow ourselves to be touched, to allow ourselves to be seen.
Yes, just as I discovered all those decades ago, when you open yourself to conscious acts of love—both the giving and receiving—you may feel uncomfortable. And, simultaneously, renewed and restored.
This is the power of living through acts of love: The more you give, the more you can receive.
Where can you open to the love that is all around you? Where can you deepen your gratitude and appreciation for the acts of love that touch you every day?
A hot cup of tea brought to you in the morning, flowers blooming in your garden, a cat’s purr, a friend’s hand in yours, or even a smile from the cashier at your local supermarket. Every moment is an act of love. And it is through these acts of love, we live.