WHAT WE CANNOT KNOW

"Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be." 

~ Thomas a' Kempis ~

I think it's more helpful to be loving and compassionate with others than it is to tell them what they should do to fix themselves. We make our suggestions helpfully and hopefully, as if we are the sudden light in their dark situation. We enthusiastically report how our solution has worked for us, or for our neighbor, or for our distant friend. But feeling sure that it will work for the person in front of us who is suffering, without knowing anything really about their particular situation, is arrogant of us. How can we know without having walked a mile in their shoes?
     Let's give people the dignity of having done their homework and paid their dues, of knowing more about their own struggles and ailments that they have lived with for years than we can possibly know or even begin to understand in a five minute conversation. Let's back off of our helpful suggestions, and simply listen and send love instead.

I share my experience and compassion with others, but don't peddle quick-fix solutions.