Compassion is best described as an understanding of the emotional state of another; not to be confused with empathy. Compassion is often combined with a desire to alleviate or reduce the suffering of another; to show special kindness to those who suffer. Compassion may lead one to feel empathy with another person. Compassion is often characterized through actions, wherein a person acting with compassion will seek to aid those they feel compassionate for.

Compassionate acts are generally considered those which take into account the pain of others and attempt to alleviate that pain. In this sense, the various forms of the Golden Rule are in part based on the concept of compassion, if also on the concept of empathy.

Aside from a chemical or physiological cause, people can lack compassion if their own pain (whether physical or mental) is so great that the need to alleviate their pain blocks them from recognizing or acknowledging the pain of others - unless they recognize that pain as being similar to their own.

Compassion differs from other forms of helpful or humane behavior in that its focus is primarily on the alleviation of pain and suffering. Acts of kindness which seek primarily to confer benefit rather than relieve existing pain and suffering are better classified as acts of altruism, although, in this sense, compassion itself can be seen as a subset of altruism, it being defined as the type of behavior which seeks to benefit others by reducing their suffering.

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People have been passionate about roses since the beginning of time. In fact, it is said that the floors of Cleopatra's palace were carpeted with delicate rose petals, and that the wise and knowing Confucius had a 600 book library specifically on how to care for roses.

Wherefore art thou rose? In the readings of Shakespeare, of course. He refers to roses more than 50 times throughout his writings.

1,000 years old. That's the age the world's oldest living rose is thought to be. Today it continues to flourish on the wall of the Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany.

The rose is a legend in it's own. The story goes that during the Roman empire, there was an incredibly beautiful maiden named Rhodanthe. Her beauty drew many zealous suitors who pursued her relentlessly. Exhausted by their pursuit, Rhodanthe was forced to take refuge from her suitors in the temple of her friend Diana. Unfortunately, Diana became jealous. And when the suitors broke down her temple gates to get near their beloved Rhodanthe, she also became angry turning Rhodanthe into a rose and her suitors into thorns.

A rose by any other name... according to Greek Mythology, it was Aphrodite who gave the rose its name.

Leave it to the romantic French to be the ones to first deliver roses. It was in the seventeenth century that French explorer Samuel deChamplain brought the first cultivated roses to North America.

The Red Rose Society was founded in 1999, providing a unique place for all lovers of roses to visit and join from all over the world!

Roses are truly ageless. Recently, archaeologists discovered the fossilized remains of wild roses over 40 million years old.

The people of ancient Greece used roses to accessorize. On festive occasions they would adorn themselves with garlands of roses, and splash themselves with rose-scented oil.

The first true primary red rose seen in Europe was 'Slater's Crimson China,' introduced in 1792 from China, where it had been growing wild in the mountains. Immediately, rose breeders began using it to hybridize red roses for cultivation. Ever since, the quest for the elusive perfect red rose has been the Holy Grail of rosarians: a fragrant, disease-resistant, long-lasting, long-stemmed, reblooming, perfectly formed rose with clear non-fading vivid red color. Absolute perfection still hasn't been attained, and of course never will!

Napoleon's wife Josephine so adored roses, she grew more than 250 varieties.

The Rose is the flower of love. It was created by Chloris, the Greek goddess of flowers, but of a lifeless body of a nymph which she found one day in a clearing in the woods. She asked the help of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who gave her beauty; Dionysus, the god of wine, added nectar to give her a sweet scent, and the three Graces gave her charm, brightness and joy. Then Zephyr, the West Wind, blew away the clouds so that Apollo, the sun god, could shine and make the flower bloom. And so the Rose was born and was immediately crowned Queen of the Flowers." Quoted from Pickles, Sheila. The Language of Flowers (New York: Harmony Books, 1989).

Clay tablets excavated in the temples of Ur in Iraq speak of the delivery of rose water intended for the sultan of Bagdad. The sultan used no fewer than 30,000 jars of rose water a year, to make his rooms smell nice for his extensive harem.

The Saracen general Saladin sent camel caravans loaded with rose water through his empire to cleanse the mosques after 'impure' crusaders had occupied the prayer rooms.

Until the early 19th century dried rose petals were believed to have mysterious powers. Napoleon gave his officers bags of rose petals to boil in white wine, to cure lead poisoning from bullet wounds, Even today, rose water is still used to refresh the hands before a feast or festive greeting, from the Middle East to northern India.

There is a special rose language invented as a secret means of communication between lovers who were not allowed to express their love for one another openly in the harems of the Middle East. In the mid 18th century Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the wife of the British ambassador in Constantinople, described this in her letters, which were published after her death. These letters inspired many books on the language of flowers, each describing the secret message hidden in each flower. A red rose bud stands for budding desire, while an open white rose asks "WIll you love me?". An open red rose means "I'm full of love and desire", while an open yellow rose asks "Don't you love me any more?".

Wicca If you take the Bible and put it out in the wind the pages will tear, If you take the Bible and put it out in the rain the words will blur, If you take the bible and put it in the fire the binding will burn, If you take the bible and put it in the earth its word will be forgotten. My bible is the wind, the rain, the fire and the earth- It can never be destroyed. The Witch Taking in the wind The breeze blows Upon her face As she sits there Eyes closed Yet seeing the beauty of the world Not the starlit sky Or the flowing hills She sees more Than can be seen with just the eyes The happiness of a flower Who has just bloomed The last wish of a fish Just caught by a bear All of nature's hopes, dreams, and despairs She stands up Smelling the breeze Picks up her wand And falls to her knees She sits for a minute Lost in herself Calmly she stands Without further ado She begins an enchanting dance An energy flows out of her Pulsing in the air Lighting up the world As the wind blows through her hair Suddenly she stops And opens her eyes With one tear and one eye One drop of water for the world Falls to the ground She walks away Knowing someday She will change our world. Who's A Witch? October 19th, 2001 Copyright 2001, H.P. Jacobus All Rights Reserve Nary a man a Witch can be nor Witch a Wizard, don't you see? For t'was thus ordained above, this great natural law called Love that from man to woman is the flow and as such, always has been so. Into whose hands are babies born and who gathers the eggs on frosty morn? T'is she who knows the herb that cures. and guess who, that trusty cauldron stirs. Comes now the Woman of the Moon; it's Her planter's orb in June. By wind and fire, rain and earth, all God's creatures know Her worth. All that live are born in strife, But She's the One who nurtures life. Thank you Goddess for the Witches By just their being, our life enriches. Think not there's something I've forgotten; it's the fact that we ‘re all begotten You see, from that piece of Adam's rib comes the hand that rocks the crib. Surely there's one thing now we know. "Move over Wizard; it's Her show."

Emotions and Actions Yesterday I cried. Today I sing. Judging was a part of me. Today I have forgotten that word. I blamed my mother and father yesterday. Today I lost blame and found responsibility. There was no time to fix anyone; the only I one I can fix is me. I felt guilty and in my head could not please. I love, let go, go on and guilt slips from my bank of torments. I am never right and wrong is my middle name. I address my childhood drama and release my thoughts to the brilliant aftermath, the self found. I loved with conditions. I love with a pure heart and no spilling of fake emotions. All paths led to problems. I uncreated them. I stood in the mist of dawn and looked for the sun. I am the mist and dawn and sun looking only to be enlightened. I cried for my Spirit to give me all the answers, and yet, I was detached from Spirit. Today I live it. I never have enough and must struggle each moment. I was in the wrong classroom. If God created the world and all that is in it, why am I sick? I was sick of who I was in the world and have created a new model. I don't understand awareness, I just can't! I took off the blinders, opened the door, and stepped out and away. I want everything now; time is eating me up. There is no time, and I have everything I need. There are five people I can never forgive. I have forgiven myself. All my dreams were nightmares and none of my wishes came true. All wishes are dreams come true, and nightmares gallop with the moon and carry me to realities of desires. I complained of life and her chores, her woes. I am thankful for each breath in each life I choose. I am stuck here and can go no further, I do not want to know anymore. I follow love, my soul is at the altar of great capacity; the tombs of my unwilling approach have crumbled. I long for my youth and cannot stand to grow older and alone. I am never alone, and youth is with me as long as I let it be. I used to think there were angels to help me, but I have never seen one. Hearing my name called out at night, or while reading, or walking leads me to know that someone is watching over me. I do not have to see them to believe. I seem to have been walking backwards. I have turned around. It is hard to believe in Heaven. It is within blinking distance. There is no true love. I look within, and I look at the planet and universe about me, thesmile of my child, the touch of my lover's hand, a hug from a stranger, the butterfly and wasp sipping nectar from the same blossom, and even in the wings of death I now see true love...and tomorrow I will not be the same as I am today, and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. My silent thoughts will wake me once more and weave a new garment of invisible truths to dance in my new awareness. I am angry at my spouse for dying and leaving me with debt and pain and loneliness. I am angry that I am not immortal. I lost myself in the moment and am now centered. Relationships come and go for me, no one has ever wanted to know who I am, no one has ever loved me as I loved him, no one gives back. I choose to open myself up to become who I really am, not what someone wants me to be for him or her. I give with no thought of the return, just the joy of giving, knowing that the universe gives me what I need, and that giving comes around when you least expect it. The circle returns upon itself, and I am in the circle. From within the self, I choose to love who I am and someone will come into my life and love me for that alone. I hid behind the shadow of a me that only wanted to make someone else happy. I lost the me I loved the most. I feared I was unlovable. Love is all there is and is in the eye of the beholder. I choose to love; with that energy alone I shall reap only benefits. I will never make it in this world, it's just too tough. I have changed how I look and think about the world and seek a positive outlook. There is always someone better than me, and I want to be what he or she is. There is no one better or worse than anyone else. I put myself in a place of balance and accept me. I grow as the sapling. I am flexibility. Why me, what have I done and why am I feeling so much shame? Why not let it go, and find something beautiful to concentrate upon? Shame is a message given by someone who does not love him or herself and puts attitudes on me that I will not hang about my neck. I am a vessel overflowing with compassion and love, and there is no room for anything else. What has God ever done for me? What can I do for God, the Higher Self, the All, the OZ, the Buddha...The Me of All That Is? I cannot accept the unknown, I need the answers, or I will perish. The unknown has become a comet I ride freely towards new goals, new memories, new lives with great anticipation of what is next; I create answers as I go. My children did not turn out how I wanted them to be. My children are who they are and I love them unconditionally. I was set up, it always happens to me. I accepted it, I bought it, I gave up my innate power to someone else. Next time I will understand the actors and the director. I am the director of my life. I can never recover what I have lost. I have my life and material items come and go and cannot make me happy. I am this way because of circumstances in life, drinking kills the pain; drugs take me to higher realms than I could ever reach without them. I chose all my circumstances as learning tools. I have not looked inside for anything and now I see that I doubted my worthiness. I trusted outside influence to deaden the inside of darkness, fearing truth and light. My higher realm was hidden by the fog of temptation to become who I am not. The fog has become a painting in life and I am aware of new colors. I am worthy and deserving. If I do not believe in it, then it does not exist. Nothing could be more truthful. I give up; everything and everyone is against me. I moved my energy into a more loving environment. Trusting leaves me open for disappointment and failure. I trust myself first. The past is always looming about; it ruins my future. I live in the garden of NOW, no expectations of tomorrow, and no regrets of yesterday and so each day is a new landscape with a new sky and a new me, new eyes to behold new futures that I create NOW.