I have a friend who was always told (by her husband) that she had no compassion and that she was cold. She asked a therapist or two if that's what they thought and they looked at her and said she was quite the opposite. Her husband, who considered himself King of Compassion(that he uttered these words to her speaks volumes), equated compassion with gushing, tears and dramatic emotional displays. Well, that was not her forte. But it didn't mean that she wasn't a deeply feeling and compassionate person. I like to point out that it was her compassion that made her stay in a marriage that was full of lies. She just kept trying to understand her husband, give him space and time to heal his wounds and change on his own. If she were not compassionate, she would not have been able to stay as long as she did.
How many words do we spout, carry and use inappropriately? How many have mislabelled and wounded others? Your idea of what a word means isn't always what it is. Your perception does not make a word, so be mindful when you speak.
Words create worlds, but they can also be weapons that degrade the human soul.
