How big can you let your love become?
Think about where your love thrives, and where it seems to stop. What are the current boundaries of your circle of compassion? And how can you stretch those boundaries?
Does your love stop at your own family? Maybe it extends to your tribe - i.e. people who share your beliefs - but stops short at people who believe differently. Some people feel love and compassion for their own nationality, but not others that they perceive as "different". Perhaps you feel love for humankind in general, but are apathetic towards other living beings such as animals. Maybe you love your companion animals but are unfeeling towards other species.
Wherever you experience boundaries to love, your circle of compassion can be widened. Because there doesn't need to be a limit to love.
Wherever your love boundaries are, they can be stretched to include more. The awesome thing about love, is that it actually has no limits other than those that we impose. You never "run out" of love... it's the opposite. The more you love, the more love you have! Love grows our hearts. The bigger your heart becomes, the greater your capacity to love. It's a beautiful loop of compassion.
So, where do we start? Empathy is the best way to genuinely connect. ... choose someone, either human or animal, for whom you feel no connection or compassion. Empathy is not sympathy, or even agreement. Instead, it's being present with them, connecting with them
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
― Albert Einstein