by Rob Loveland
https://loveland-slc.com/quan-yin-on-loving-and-serving-without-judgment-the-greatest-act-of-compassion/
Quan Yin: Hello, all. This is Quan Yin, the Goddess of Compassion.
So it is good that you are all laughing about what you see as your own limitations, and I will say, Rob, the fact that you are looking at your own behavior and recognize that perhaps there is a better way to behave, that there is a better attitude you can have about what it is that you see around you, this is a sign of your progress, of your advancement. You are, in fact, making progress.
Self-examination is the highest form, the most advanced form, of practice that you can do. At the end of the day, if you are honest with yourself, you will see that there is a better way.
So you often joke around with your teammates that driving in traffic is the one thing that drives you crazy more than anything else. But you are asking, why is that? Why do you allow something as mundane as driving on the roadway from one place to another to disturb your peace to such a degree that you actually get upset by it, by the actions of others?
But I need not remind you. No one on the road is doing anything to upset Rob. They’re just going to whatever their destination is, in the only way that they know how. The fact that you get upset by it is a reflection of what is within YOU. It’s your own interpretation of their actions, a projection of your own feelings on their behavior. It has nothing to do with them.
It may be true that they are acting from a place of less maturity, as you called it, a place of, perhaps, even selfishness. But that has nothing to do with you. That is within them. That is their own issue to work out. That is their own state of progress on THEIR journey. Why, in any way, would that upset you?
So your question at the beginning is how to love and to serve without judgment. When you project those kind of ill-intents on others and their actions, that is a form of judgment that is purely based on your own beliefs and your own way of thinking. The first part of [your question] is the key: to just love them, and serve them, so that you are not disturbed by how they behave.
You may watch what they do and think there is a better way. Just love them for where they are. Serve them in any way that you can. And while you are driving on the road, that act of service need be nothing more than you simply allowing them to be who they are and where they are in their journey, not letting it upset you in any way.
Some may think that not reacting to anything that you see in the world, [actions] that generally upset folk in society, is an act of not showing any compassion whatsoever. But I would suggest that the exact opposite is true. The most compassionate thing that you can do for another is to allow them to be, to allow them to progress in their own journey. It is their choice how they go through life, and it is all for a purpose. It is all for a reason, and it is their chosen way.
So the most compassionate thing you can do is allow them to be who they’re going to be, how they are going to be, and simply love them for where they are. As was stated in the response to the question that you recounted just a moment ago [in the discussion with your teammates], when a toddler acts up, you don’t judge them. You love them for who they are. Think of your own grandchildren. As you just stated, more often than not, your reaction is to see their behavior as something cute, as something adorable. Why would you not treat anyone else that way? It’s no different.
So be compassionate. Drop the judgment, and in particular, drop the judgment of yourself for feeling upset about being upset. You are all on a journey, and you are all making progress according to the plan, designed exactly to meet your needs for where you are at the moment.
So remember this the next time you are on the road in heavy traffic. It is an opportunity for forgiveness – for yourself and for all others. And in that sense, it would be the greatest act of compassion that you could perform at that time.
I hope this has helped. With that, I will step step back and allow others their opportunity. Go with the love and the compassion of all here.
Farewell for now.