Feeling the suffering and joy of others makes us equal to Nature
Question from the Internet:
“How do you deal with knowing there are people all over the world suffering and that you can’t do much to help very many of them?”
“Normally” our original egocentric, subjective nature shields us from such feelings. Our self has an inbuilt self-protection against dealing with the suffering of others.
We might be horrified by certain events, suffering from “faraway” places (and usually everything beyond the wall of our home is deemed faraway for our inherently introverted, self-conscious observer), but it doesn't last long and we immediately return to our life as if nothing happened.
If anything the suffering of others even gives us some reassurance, saying how good it is that such horrific things happen to others and not to us and our loved ones.
We have the ability to develop true empathy, mutual sensation with others above time, space and movement. We can come to a state that we feel the pain, suffering, joy and happiness of others as if it was ours. Fortunately when we come to such a state we also learn, understand how to help them, how to facilitate the fulfillment for the needs, desires of others as if we didn't even exist for ourselves, only to serve others.
And while at this stage, from within the original egocentric, subjective point of view such a state seems illogical, incomprehensible, undesirable, such a selfless, altruistic, unconditionally serving state is the highest, happiest, most liberated state a Human being can achieve! Then we become similar to, equal to Nature's perfect system, sensing ourselves in it as the systems partners, “guardians”.