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More than "Me".

What is Compassion? What is this urge within us that drives us to feel hurt, loss and pain that pushes us into action on behalf of someone else?

I am selfish. Seeking my own agenda since that doomed day that the first taste of personal indulgence was found. We all have tasted this evil. Mine. Me. Take. From as far as I can remember I have wanted to serve myself, and I am happy to do so. Nonetheless there is still a twinge upon my heart when I see the lost, broken and hurting. I want to help, to reach out and invite hope into their despair. But herein lies the question: do I long to help for the benefit of the hurting, or do I simply long to exploit them for my own self gain? Yes, exploit. To parade them in a sea of lavished gifts, not for their sake, nay, but for mine. So that at the end of the day I feel good about my pathetic existence. I lie awake at the end of the day and ask,"Am I good?" Well sure! I give back don't I? Yes! I must be good. Then I proceed to profess my goodness to the world. Telling all of humanity of my deeds, placing myself as an example to be followed. The mold for a giving life. Giving an illusion to the world that I am selfless. Now only one truth remains: the pats on my back are given by my own hand, only to sustain my lifestyle of "me" just a little longer.

Can one give out of a pure heart? Is it possible to give without taking? To pour out you're life to someone, solely for their betterment?

When you give, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Only then will true self-sacrificing humility give forth to true people-loving compassion

Don't be forgotten.

Is life meant to be remembered. Held on to like a coffee table photo album that serves as a constant reminder that you are no longer who you were? Are memories meant to last, or do we flatter ourselves with self-indulgence? Perhaps, our gathered thoughts are meant to serve as a guide for future challenge to push us over the walls of impending struggle. Or maybe, just maybe, our lives lived thus far are served to network, to bind us to others. Maybe what we have seen and now can only recall as faint thought is meant to connect us to other people, their thoughts, ideas and struggles. Maybe, just maybe, we are meant to remember so that we never forget how horribly wonderful life with people can be. We all have moments of failure, moments of loss, and moments of heartache; None have escaped these travesties. In the same light however, we all have felt love, fulfillment, and belonging, as if at some point we had an impact that mattered. Maybe, Just maybe, our sad string of events that lingers in our small minds is posed in suspension to serve as reflection on a life lived in community.

When we die, nothing that we did will matter if it was done alone. No conquest can be made if a legacy is not left. Don't waste your life. There is love waiting for you, love that can heal and sustain. Loneliness will leave you lost and forgotten. Love God and it will sustain you for ever. Share love with a neighbor, and your meaning and purpose has been brought to full life. There is no greater love than this: to lay down your life for a friend. Be selfless, love without demanding it. Smile without a joke being told. Give without someone first giving to you. Let purpose find you in something beyond yourself.

Have you loved someone today? Try it. Let me know how it goes