My dear @abigail-dantes,
As usual, your comment is full of wisdom.

whoever has the ability to be kind towards others, has the potential to be kind towards oneself.

That is key, I think, to compassion. As long as we allow ourselves to be driven by guilt and recrimination--toward ourselves or others--we cannot be driven by love. I do fight the guilt. It may be my Catholic upbringing, although guilt is a useful tool employed by many theologies and cultures. You're right...regret is only useful going forward if it alters behavior. I try not to repeat past errors, but still have clay feet 🙂

It was chilling to be witness to history. In 1958 I moved to New York City. My next-door neighbor was a schule. Grief over the holocaust in the community was palpable and personal. This gave me a kind of visceral insight into evil, and its consequences.

Thank you for taking the time to write for us during your summer. Always a treat when I see a new post from @abigail-dantes. 😇 Each and every post adds to my understanding of self, and others.

So glad you have breezes in sunny Portugal. No breezes here...just oppressive heat and humidity. Still, it's not snowing :))

With great affection and respect,
Your New York friend, ❤ ❤
AG