Yesterday I went with my mom to visit one of her friends whose wife had recently passed away. About 20 years earlier he had suffered a brain aneurysm and really can't say too much or understand too much anymore. I'm honestly not even sure if he really understands that his wife is dead, or perhaps he does, but just has no emotional capacity or able to express himself. He's not in the best of ways.
My mom goes way back with this couple. They were already friends in Germany, and then travelled together from Germany on a big ship and took a train across Canada to end up in Vancouver, BC. My mom is now 76 years old.
I don't really know her to be so soft and gentle, but when she spoke to her friend, I saw a side of her that I don't always see. You could see in her eyes and in her face how much she cared. She spoke ever so softly to him about things from a long time ago, because that is what he remembers. It's not easy to hold a conversation when you don't get much of a response, but she managed it beautifully.
In that moment when I was observing this compassionate gesture, I felt warm. Everything else seemed unimportant, and I just let the moment wash over me. I felt really good. Showing compassion in life reaches much further than just the the people it is directed at. It magnifies, and touches the people around you as well. Imagine if we could get the majority of the people in the world to be compassionate at the same time. What kind of an impact do you think that would make?
No comments:
Post a Comment