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2020-11-17T16:00:51-08:00November 13th, 2020|Parenthood|

The path to compassion

My son is the age
when your peripheral vision
opens up and you realize
you are one
among many.

“Everybody is just as important as me.”

He says it over and over,
fascinated and overwhelmed by it,
as though he is being invaded
by this discovery,

as though the hopes and dreams
of billions of people
are suddenly clamoring
for his attention
as much as his own.

Later that night, he cries in my arms
as he falls asleep,
asking questions about wars
and cancer and refugee camps,
imagining himself hurting
in the ways so many people hurt.

“They are just as scared of suffering as I am.”

He says it over and over,
and I am reminded yet again
how the path to compassion
must pass anguish
along the way.

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