I received a facebook posting this morning from one of my friends. The post and video are about two elephants reunited after two decades of separation. They say an elephant never forgets and it is obvious that after their enforced separation that these two are still fast friends.
What I believe to be more important that as “children” these elephants were enslaved, chained and forced to be circus elephants. Not a very compassionate way to treat our fellow inhabitants on this planet. I am happy these two animals have been freed and allowed to roam and be together, the way they should be.
Compassion is something I highly believe in. Compassion starts with ones Self, having compassion for who we are, what we do and what we believe in is so very important. If we can have compassion and understanding of Self, then we can extend those qualities to others. Others in this case includes all the inhabitants of this planet, all sentient beings.
If one can find moments of quiet to give thought to ones own life, our actions, thoughts and emotions then perhaps we can start to develop compassion for our Self. Developing compassion does take work, one has to give conscious thought to what we say and how we act, but developing compassion can be achieved. Think of the possibilities if one is compassionate for ones Self, then by extension, what about other human beings and our animal friends?!
Om Mani Padme Hum (compassion)