Interesting tidbit...

Compassion is characterized as promoting the aspect of allaying suffering. Its function resides in not [enduring] others' suffering. It is manifested as non-cruelty. Its proximate cause is to see helplessness in those overwhelmed by suffering. It succeeds when it makes cruelty subside, and it fails when it produces sorrow.

-Buddhaghosa, "Visuddhimagga"

But isn't allaying emotional suffering rooted in feeling that pain yourself and trying to find ways to relieving that suffering in the person you're trying to help? I personally can't be around someone suffering and not FEEL it myself. I use it as my barometer of whether or not what I'm doing is helping or hurting. Maybe I missed the point a little bit. Maybe it's that you can't ONLY endure the suffering and succeed in making the situation better for someone else...

Yesterday was JAM packed full of things. From my first morning of 6am wake up, 6:45am distress call from CAP (SAR mission for missing pilot/glider in Hemet), get books at Santa Rosa JC bookstore at 7:30a, Class at 8am, get to work by 10am, put together aircrews available to fly to Hemet for the SAR mission, cell phone dies at 1:30pm with no juice left in the battery, stand down from mission (pilot found ok) at 2pm, work till 4:45pm, go to Fed Ex to pickup package with INCORRECT ADDRESS from Houston, TX, get back to find Jim's closed the office JUST as I arrive back, walk AROUND building to get into office and call Stace- from here forward the day gets MUCH better- and see if she's off to get gay Daniel yet, she's ALREADY on my street just to see if I was free to go or at LEAST drop off her car charger for my phone (such a sweetheart), we drive to UCB fighting traffic all the way, get Daniel, turn around because he forgot his purse (I shit you not lol), then get BACK on the road, hit the store for drinks/stuff at 7:45pm-ish, get home just after 8pm, eat dinner Jessie made (yummy sauce, sausage and beef, makes Spaghetti taste SO much better!), have a drink, and at about 11ish, go to bed.

Busy day, fun, it tested me. I think I passed ok. B+ at least.