It's very freeing to not look at the world and everyone else and think that things happening or how other people act are in anyway about me or because of something I did. I think the pathway to compassion for me was realizing how much things I do or say probably come across wrong to others and the more mindful and conscious we are of our own behaviors the less we have to worry about those situations. Clearly sometimes the stuff people do may be intentionally directed at us, but with compassion we can even see that though things may get done to us, it doesn't mean it's about us. Realizing how easy it is to say things without thinking or in anger and then having the empathy to recognize how the other person feels about it just reinforces that need for more mindful and conscious behavior. As it builds I find myself becoming more and more peaceful and my interactions with others are often much smoother. We all have our good days and bad days and it's not easy to find that fine line between correcting bad behavior and bullying ourselves because of something we do, but I suppose that's the greatest lesson of compassion to me personally. We can be compassionate to and for others, but we have to be compassionate with ourselves as well. We are all one. It all creates the ripples. Namaste.