View from a Cubicle - Compassion SOLI 2

Compassion sneaked up on me today.

I had a meeting this morning with some folks engaged with me on a mammoth project. Two of the three of us were there on time, me and a woman I'll call Julie. I will be honest: Julie gets on my nerves more often than not. The workplace is about being professional, though, and cordial. So we were chatting while we waited for the 3rd person.

For a little background: Julie is overweight, and extremely self-conscious about it. She confided once to me that she always wears black because she is so heavy. However today she was wearing a pretty outfit, NOT black, a sort of soft beige dress with a jacket. I complimented her outfit, because it WAS pretty. If you are familiar with women who have weight issues, you can guess what came next - a complete brush-off of the compliment with a stream of self-denigration about her weight. I listened and when she ran out of steam, gently said really I was just trying to say that I liked what she was wearing.

Then she proceeded to tell me that it was so frustrating for her because she used to be slender and strong, athletic, then was in two car accidents pretty much back-to-back - in the second one, she was hit by an 18-wheeler. That was the end of her ability to roller-blade, ski, and all the other things she loved to do. Even walk for more than a little while, because of pain.

That's what really hit me. I am very active - I love working out, I love being in shape, I am at one gym or another almost every day. It may sound shallow, but the loss of my ability to exercise is one of my worst fears. In that moment, I felt a wave of compassion that pushed aside all my other not-so-positive feelings toward her.

And this is how the divine works in my life. I take a step in a new direction, and I am rewarded with a coincidence, a chance encounter, an unexpected conversation, that taps something inside and lets it out, and I see the world differently. I am grateful to @LuminousHeart for the invitation to focus on lovingkindness this summer. Participating in SOLI is that step that is opening me.