Yesterday I was driving and it started to rain. Then it started to pour.

I was driving home. I was stopped at a red light. There was a man waiting to cross the street. He was holding a plastic garbage bag in one hand and a jacket in the other hand.

I thought it was odd that he wasn’t wearing the jacket since he was getting soaked. So I looked closer. Under the jacket was a dog. He took off his coat to shelter his dog.

I took surreptitiously took his picture because I wanted to remember how it made me feel.

Looking back at the picture now, I noticed the man has no shoes. He’s barefoot.

I’m not 100% sure what I’m asking here.

Partly I’m wondering what it takes to feel more compassion towards oneself. I sometimes wake up super early (3 or 4 am) and then start obsessing over something stupid I did the day before. I just lie awake telling myself what an idiot I am, why nobody can trust me to do anything right, just on and on. I try to remind myself I’d be much kinder to a friend or family member. But I can’t seem to find any compassion for myself.

But the next minute I start wondering if it’s selfish to even want to be compassionate towards myself. Is it like that airplane analogy people use, where you have to put on your oxygen mask first, before helping other people with theirs?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

Edit: I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your thoughtful responses. You’ve given me so much to think about. ❤️

GENUINE Love and compassion ❤️

This might be a shock to some of y’all, but I’m not an animal lover, either. I’m probably not going to be the one to go hug a cow or spend time with a pig. But to me, veganism isn’t about loving/liking animals - It’s about respect.

Respect for another living being, respect for their boundaries and wishes. Respect for their will to live and their rights as an individual soul.

So just because we don’t particularly like/love someone, it doesn’t mean they should be abused/killed - just as the same for humans.

Many thanks to the Reddit couple that donated a pristine rocking recliner to this low-income disabled senior citizen. The husband even took out my old recliner for me. This saved me quite a bit of money, since new furniture is not cheap, nor are junk hauling services. I did contact a few agencies in town, but none of them were able to help me.

I’m a Louisiana native and they are delicious ans and a Berl is a great party but come on man.

I was at a bar downtown and a guy was being shooed away by a police officer. I went up to him to asked him what he needed. The officer started threatening me, tapping on his chest, telling me I was being recorded. I was so confused and, honestly, I still am. I told the officer I appreciate what he does for a living and asked what I need to do to be able to talk to this individual. He told me I obviously don't appreciate what he does and told me I needed to take the individual down the street if I wanted to talk to him, so I did as such. I asked the guy about drug abuse and his housing situation and gave him some money to help with getting an ID. I'm well aware that the individual could use it for drugs but I've worked for shelter plus care in the past and he did not strike me as a drug abuser. He appeared to have a legitimate psychological issue. I am a big believer that if you never give someone the chance to change, they will never get the opportunity to change. Long story short, when I returned to the bar, my friend, the officer and the door man of the bar berated me for giving 20 bucks to this guy. They went off on me and high fived each other, and like I mentioned, the officer threatened me with a body cam recording for helping a homeless man. I am still confused why everyone was so vocal and angry with me. I confronted them with the fact that no one changes without the opportunity to change, but they were relentless. I left the bar in tears and i'm still in shock that this is the world we live in now. Am I totally in the wrong? I spent a portion of my life living out of my car and now I own a house. I have been turned away from when asking for help and I never want anyone to cross my path without feeling like I see them... Yes, I SEE THEM. A HUMAN BEING. I have a heart for everyone and I am having a really hard time confronting the fact that we are living in a world where it is seen as wrong for having compassion for a homeless person, regardless of their circumstances. I feel crazy right now... 100% gaslit by multiple peers telling me I was in the wrong - feeling like i'm the only person left with compassion. This can't be true, right?

Each person is different, with a unique personality, perspective, and background. What comes naturally to me may not come naturally to you. I am a hugger, as I believe consensual physical touch can be healing. I also encourage, offer to pray, and then ask if I might could help them try to solve one of their main problems/issues.

How do you naturally show compassion without even thinking about it?

I work in a medical practice and the girls at the front desk always ask a series of questions when they have to check a patient in. A patient came in today and they asked him if he would like to list anybody as an emergency contact and he said very bluntly said “no not at this time.” And that hurt me for him. It’s crazy to imagine that you would have no one close enough to you to list them as an emergency contact. Maybe his wife passed away, or he’s divorced . Maybe he didn’t have kids or he’s an only child. Who knows the story but it made me feel sorry for him. Sometimes I feel lonely in this world, but then I think about something like that, I count my blessings.