“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
But without deeper reflection, one knows from daily life that one exists for other people; first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy.
A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labours of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.
A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe’, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
Only a life lived for others is worth living.”
– Albert Einstein
And on the topic of compassion, let me highlight the true meaning of compassion…Â Com-passion: Com (with) – passion (strong feeling, enthusiasm); to be with another in strong feeling and with enthusiasm.
So we do not need to limit compassion as a response to suffering. Compassion is life itself! A quality which could be lived out in every situation, with anybody, instead of just with those who are in distress.
Thank you to Albert Einstein for your powerful words earlier, to Jay Litvin for this gem on compassion, and Kishor Bhimji Shah (editor of Oshwal News) for bringing the messages from both people to my attention.
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