Compassion is Free

I was on the ferry this morning and overhead a conversation by two boisterous women.  One of the women, I'll call her Jane, mentioned that she is irritated by people with obsessive compulsive disorder.  Jane said she watches a commuter get on the train every morning who is obviously afraid of catching germs.  The woman huddles near the door, clenches her purse tightly, wears gloves, and squirms at the slightest cough or sneeze.  Jane was adamant that people like the germaphobic commuter should stay home while others go to work and live their lives.

People like Jane frighten me.  The vitriole she spoke about the commuter was as heated as any hate rhetoric I've ever heard about homosexuals or minorities.  I wonder what the world would be like if we were all so insensitive to another persons plight.  Compassion is free and I believe we must seek opportunities to use it.  No one can know when we might need to be on the receiving end of it.

Twitter:  @R_Eason