Spiritual teachings of various traditions speak of compassion and its cultivation being a necessary component of a fulfilled and happy life.
How is it that you can establish a way of living that will be conducive to being a mindful and compassionate human being in your ordinary, every day life?
Firstly, you must have motivation and discipline.
You must ask yourself why is it you want to be compassionate? What can you get out of being selfishly altruistic?
Study after study has shown that compassionate people live a more fulfilled life. You will be happier. You will experience life from a more inclusive perspective.
Daily existence will be imbued with a greater sense of ease, comfort, equanimity, and overall joy. And wouldn’t these things make everyone’s life a better place to be?
You also need discipline.
Discipline in living within a compassionate mindset will be a guideline in establishing compassion as a priority, keeping you on track with this view in your mind and will then give birth to compassionate actions.
The intention of being compassionate and having the discipline to act in accord with it will then give rise to a different relationship with yourself and others. A deeper, freer, easier relationship that is more harmonious.
Have the discipline to practice when things are going well because there will, at some point in the future, be a point when things are not unfolding as you would like, when things are full of pain. Here, having had practice practicing in easier times, you will then have the strength and fortitude to practice compassion during more trying times, when you really need it.
The practice of regularly practicing meditation is also a key here as it will unfold to your mind the nature of reality and liberate you from the tyranny of the unenlightened mind.
Be yourself and experience your intrinsic wholeness here, now. Ask yourself, “What would it be content with what is here right now? What would it feel like to stop waiting for another day, postponing our happiness for some future event?”
This contentment with the present is learned through meditation. You must relinquish all your illusory struggles at some point. Why not now?
It’s a moment to moment choice that you can only have if you are aware and mindful.
Originally published at www.scottgoolsby.com.
Originally published at medium.com