Let us suppose we are all connected through consciousness. There are enough philosophies and modern day scientific theories out there that suggest that we are. Assuming those are or at least might be, true, then in a very real way, the people around us are aspects of ourselves. If we are all “one mind” then it follows that everyONE is in essence, ourselves. How we treat others then becomes a reflection of how we treat ourselves. And how we treat ourselves in turn is how we are treating others.

For example, most everyone is afraid of death, of dying. One of the ways we can soothe ourselves, altruistically, is to soothe others, to be a good friend, to be a happy face, to be a good listener. We are all in this together. Compassion is knowing this and reaching out. In so doing, we are helping ourselves as well — helping ourSELF, the whole sea of humanity.