Suffering and compassion

The daily practice of mindfulness and meditation is softening my heart. In practical terms, the shield that I incorporated so long ago believing that I needed to be tough in order to survive is giving way to openness, to kindness, to a freshness of presence. Actually, kindness is dissolving the armor of protection, the illusion that there's something that needs to be protected. On my morning drive to work today - the air wet with the morning fog - I felt truly grateful for the suffering, for the confusion that at times used to be prevalent. Having been through those trying moments now allows me to experience a deep connection with others, with the universality of the human experience.