I recall a time where I first learned the value of empowering others. I was a teenager in charge of 250 martial arts students aged 5-18. My friend and I were responsible for ensuring they were all being prepared for their next ranks and being developed properly. Each class had about 7 to 8 different ranks and each had very different requirements they needed to learn. When I first began, I wanted everything to be perfect and thought I was the only one who could teach them. I would give everyone some “busy work” and then work with one group. Have them practice and move to the next. This worked, but when I saw a young student teaching his peer how to do something, I realized had it all wrong. I was wasting a valuable resource…others. When I learned to empower them, they learned to lead. Instead of one leader…we had 250!
Why is it so hard to show compassion sometimes? When it is someone I care about deeply, it is very easy to care about their feelings. However, when it is someone who is a bit annoying, it is more of a challenge to have true compassion for their problems. For me, I do my best to imagine it is my child or sibling who is going through this and then try to employ the same measures I would for them.
