On love & compassion.

I've been thinking even more about how we treat each other and one thing that always sticks in my mind is "lack of compassion". I see this sometimes in people I meet and also very much online. Especially within feminisms exclusionary groups. I like to spend much of my time watching, reading and listening. There is much anger, an anger I believe should be listened to. One that has brewing for a seemingly long time. Anger can be vey destructive but it is often healthy. It can wake us up to voices that we did not want to listen to before. It can open up new doors for open and inclusive discourse. In my personal experience of anger it's a way of letting go, spewing forth all the things that have been kept inside for so long.

I also watch many people stomp their feet and shout about how hurt their feelings are. If you're feelings are hurt when someone talks about the abuse they have suffered from you then I'm afraid that your hurt is not valid. You need to listen, apologise and learn from the experience. You are NOT the one being abused!

I'm not going to go all soppy here and talk about our need to love in great detail. Except to say it is much easier to love than to hate, it is much easier to treat people with love and compassion than with hate, it is much easier to include than to exclude.