compassionate human affection is really important: the more compassionate our mind is, the better our brain functions. If our mind develops fear and anger, then when that happens, our brain functions more poorly
This is a quote from an article by the Dalai Lama from a piece called: Compassion as the Source of Happiness
I came to this during a group learning session when we were asked to consider the word LONGING and to think about what we longed for, and how that felt, to then write some thoughts down. I immediately reacted (mildly negatively) to this internally, as I felt instinctively that I do not “long” for anything, I am at peace, I am happy with where I am today and do not long for anything to occur in the future.
That said, the simple fact that I had a negative reaction to being asked to ponder the question and take time over it was something to sit with.
I then found myself coming first to a post I wrote nearly four years ago, called “Happiness and Gratitude“, as I was searching for the reference to the TED Talk of the monk David Steindl-Rast where his key learning was “to be happy, be grateful”.
Now, whilst I love his thoughts, within that post I also found that piece by the Dalai Lama, a piece I had forgotten since. Within that, reading it again while the group exercise was patiently proceeding, I found this phrase again:
compassionate human affection is really important: the more compassionate our mind is, the better our brain functions. If our mind develops fear and anger, then when that happens, our brain functions more poorly
The second sentence is what resonates with me. The simple fact that I had a reaction to the exercise indicates something simple to me, that I still have work to do on developing a compassionate mind.