compassion

Something I read yesterday started me thinking about compassion. Is it something we can only feel when we are doing better than those we are feeling compassion for?

Is it OK to not feel sorry for someone losing their job when you are unemployed? Is it OK to secretly feel that you hope they now feel what you have been going through? I guess that is something we have to answer for and to ourselves.

So what is the real reason that people do nice things for other people. Is it because we want others to praise us for it and think we are a good person because we do? Is it because it makes us feel better than them to be able to do something for them? If we are truly compassionate, our own circumstances should have nothing to do with how we feel about anther's situation. If someone is truly altruistic not having doesn't stop them from giving.
Does our own misfortune give us license to not have to feel bad about somone elses? Does the day in and out drama of trying to survive in life make us immune to others troubles?

Or is there a difference between feeling compassion and feeling sorry for people?

That I can relate to. Now I feel sorry for people who lose their jobs and I always feel that there but for the grace of God go I. I don't feel sorry for people who lose their houses because they bought houses they couldn't afford at inflated prices because they had to have more than they really needed. Does that make me a mean person? I don't think so. I have always been very careful to live within my means, foregoing luxuries that others had to be able to know, if I did lose my job, I wouldn't lose my home. I expect others to be responsible also and in fact I kind of resent it when someone trips thru life expecting others to bail them out no matter how bad they screw up.

But I DO feel compassion for the mother who just lost their child, or the family who just lost their father or mother. I feel compassion for the people who struggle against insurmountable odds to live a life in a body that fails them, who live with horrendous pain that makes each day an indescribable horror. These are that I can't make better, no amount of money is going to bring back a loved one, or make the pain go away. All I have to offer those people is my heart. And that is not dependant on how much money I make or my own situation in life. It is, however, dependant on who I am as a person, and while I may not be the most helpful person on the planet I would like to think that no matter my situation, I will still be able to feel compassion. And hopefully, Though I may not be able to step in an help out financially, I will always be able to offer a shoulder for a friend who is having a difficult time no matter my own situation.