Monday ramblings while my potatoes boil

Compassion. Between the books and interactions I've had recently, compassion has been on my mind. I've been spending time with professors/faculty as well as students around campus and I've noticed that there are times were it seems like the professors and students are almost on opposing sides; where the students get frustrated with the professors regarding assignments or grades, either because they feel some assignment was unfair or too hard or too tedious. And professors can get frustrated when students are late turning in an assignment or don't complete the projects or get lower grades, because often the professors can see the potential in the students and want them to do their best. 

Listening to both sides often brings to light an explanation of why something was late; a family member was sick, a stressful day that ended in a migraine, a job that's stressful, children, and pets needing care, or just straight-up burnout that leads to taking the exhaustion and frustration out on things that, compared to the aforementioned reasons, school doesn't fall as high on the priority list. And it becomes something that people can then exercise some amount of self-control or power over. 

Of course, there's no easy solution. Pretty much all systems we work in as a society (especially where rampant capitalism runs wild) are going to be imperfect, have flaws and have areas where corruption or people with selfish intentions have snuck in and set up ways that, truly don't make sense, or are set in place as a reaction to people trying to cheat or abuse the system.

Most of the people I talk and interact with are doing their best, putting as much mental and emotional energy into being kind, patient, supportive, and there for each other. But on the occasion where I do encounter someone who is out of patience, feels like they're being threatened, or are on high defense, I wish there was a way to remind them that, no, the universe isn't against them, that the few who acted selfishly and with malintent are not the majority and that, in most situations, we're all just people trying to get by and work together to achieve our goals as smoothly as possible. 

Also having enough compassion for yourself can be tricky. Balancing life, expectations (either from family/friends or from inside you) and time management are HARD, and maintaining that all while keeping enough compassion and kindness for yourself is a lot, but going to college, learning, and striving towards a future goal is so amazing and inspiration worthy that I hope everyone can see how admirable you are. That most people are so caught up in themselves that they won't notice you but when they do, they'll be delighted and inspired to see your accomplishments, however, they manifest.  

My potatoes are now ready to be mashed and my brioche dough is ready to be rolled and the second week of summer class homework needs some lovin', and I'm bad at ending ramblings. Maybe working on my own summaries is what I need to practice next? Haha we'll see!