Hi Mags

You said:

… how does one go from feeling the world’s pain intensely to compassion’s river running dry. I plead let this not be society’s fate.

This happens quite easily when caring people divert all their energies outward without directing enough caring inwards. It's easy to become resentful because we all need care. Unfortunately the fostering of resentment within a caring person occurs more often than you might think and is a natural outcome when there is a caring imbalance, leading to 'compassion fatigue'. For those not familiar with this notion, they might be quite shocked that it can happen. Many of us were taught not to be 'selfish' which meant putting others' needs before our own. And when in balance with caring for ourselves, this is OK. It's worth noting too that caring for ourselves is not being selfish. It is what we need to do in order to keep giving out to others. As the commandment goes, "Love one another as you love yourself". For many years I think the last part of that commandment was conveniently left off and people went about like martyrs which wasn't healthy. So how do we prevent compassion running dry? We need to fill our own wells continually. Just as we need to regularly fill the car with fuel to keep it running, so we need to regularly replenish our own tanks with self nurturing, fun activities, regular holidays, mini breaks, changes to routine, hobbies and things that are good for us and make us happy. And we need to give ourselves permission not to be perfect. The important thing to remember is that we can't give out of an empty well.

Blessings,

Ann Maree