[XU8i6ysK]

thank you, i appreciate each person's answer, i have found them very insightful and i am impressed by the depth of understanding here.

i have been doing a lot of thinking this morning and i feel myself moving more towards the jain and buddhist philosophies.
the sun is shining outside and it makes me feel better.

just for the record, i was reading about it and think the reason for my depression is probably adrenal burn-out syndrome, so that explains a lot if my moods, tiredness and such. i will be looking at ways to solve it through diet and lifestyle.

i think the reason for my compassion is a combination of personal choice and upbringing. of course, i could be a wanderer- i'm not certain of that though.

my mother was the one who taught me the initial compassion towards other animals. (perhaps it was already in me also, but maybe the right upbringing helped).
however, i remember at a certain time, thinking to myself- how wonderful it would be to be able to understand the mysterious language of other animals.

i learned that through spending lots of time, observing animals, and simply desiring to understand........empathy develops.

i believe that this is how all empathy develops- whoever we are trying to understand.

i have always been fascinated by the wonderful variety of cultures in the world and their religions, etc. racism and prejudice is something i wish i could make people see past. i always think that if only people could take time to understand other cultures, the beauty in each of them, and how similar our beliefs are even though they are different..... .wouldn't the world be so much happier and harmonious?

ever since i was a child, i have been a "deep thinker". i can remember wanting to know what caused evil in the first place, and how it could be healed. i thought how lovely it would be to be able to heal the human soul.

when i was a little girl, i would sometimes get nightmares, and every now and then i would wake up terrified, because i thought i could feel something sinister in my room. on one of these occasions, i prayed for help and this is when i had an experience that had a lasting influence on me.
whatever it was, it felt incredibly, undeniably powerful. i have not been able to make it come back since. it seemed to come from outside of me, and was not something i seemed to control.
i felt, what can only be described as pure love- pure, unconditional love, this strong warm light pouring into my entire being and surrounding me. it felt so good i wished i could stay in it forever. what i felt was beyond words.