I was reminded this morning of a passage by the venerable Thich Nhat Hanh: “When you being to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight.”

We’ve talked before about the efficacy of pause; that moment when we are reminded of the greater implications of our actions. Though, how often are we able to disentangle from reaction?

In looking to others, it is nearly impossible to distinguish the reality from the ‘residual’.

That is to say, nothing is every really as it seems.

Our minds are so quick to judge. We see the person standing before us, not as another human heart capable – but rather, as a conglomeration of many past stories, and moments when we ourselves have been overcome by pain. We want desperately to connect, though ego begs preservation.

Sadly, it’s easier to react than to embrace what is potentially a shared suffering. Though, when we realize that we are connected by this one simple truth – that no man exists without a bit of fear in his or her heart; we begin to see others as they truly are…

That we are not so very different, after all.

“When another person makes you suffer,” he writes. “it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That’s the message he is sending.”

It is within this shared understanding, that we may begin to cultivate these bonds of love.

In peace…

Namaste ♥