How to feel true compassion

The following I believe to be a teaching from my inner guru:

On the topic of compassion,  let’s examine how to feel it.   It is always good to start with a deep breath before any practice,  repeat this as many times as you need to feel comfortable and aware.  The compassion we want to connect with is universal and unmeasured.  This is not directed or controlled.  It is felt for every manifestation we perceive.   If we observe a flower or even think of one, we feel compassion for the flower and that from which the flower was derived.   If we see a piece of trash, perhaps a plastic bottle, we feel compassion for the bottle, the maker of the bottle and the person who discarded the bottle.  Even if the act was unskillful we feel the same compassion.  If we think of someone who was angry with us or we are attacked verbally, we feel compassion for our attacker and, of course, we feel compassion for ourselves.

To attempt to control or withhold compassion is to be uncompassionate.   To decide who is worthy of our love is to be unloving.  To share with only a selected few is to be unjoyful.  To wish peace only upon some whom we feel are deserving is to be unpeaceful.   When we let go of these ideas; to withhold, to deem worthy, to select, and to choose the deserving, we become free of the judgment and suffering this world has taught us to accept as normal.  It is only when we do this and share equally with everyone and everything that we can understand how to connect with that which truly is.  

The boundless compassionate heart is a way to escape the prison we choose to remain in.  We have been given this key; we need only put down the burden of our judgments and open the door to find liberation.  All can be understood and forgiven.  By embracing this teaching on how to be compassionate equally for the pauper and the king,  for the aggressor and the victim, and  for the powerful and the powerless,  then we will understand the true meaning of compassion.   It is a powerful practice that can liberate us from much internal hardship.  Do not listen to the protests of the ego, simply allow this compassion for everyone and everything to flow through your heart as we rest in peace together in this moment.