You're welcome Mia. It's something I work on constantly - and it
   does take effort. It takes a lot of letting go, dozens, perhaps
   hundreds of times on a daily basis. And when you can look at
   someone and really SEE them, not for who you expect them to be,
   or what you wish they were, or what they once were but are no
   longer - when you see them as they are in the NOW -- you gain a
   sense of compassio...n that is hard to describe. You realize
   that that could easily be you, born in a different skin, in a
   different body, at a different time, with a different
   upbringing. I hope to really "get it" someday, but for now, I
   just keep practicing. I don't expect to change the world. Just
   myself. And in the end, that's the only person you CAN possibly
   change. "