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Emelda De Coteau

Mother, wife, sister, friend, writer / blogger / creative organizer, budding photographer... These are just a few of the many hats I juggle each day. I believe creativity is oxygen for the soul. I created Live In Color blog to celebrate the beauty in every moment, from faith to inspiration and motherhood.And it is soon becoming Pray with Our Feet blog which will focus on the intersection of faith and activism. Follow the inspiration on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/praywithourfeetblog/

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Latest posts by Emelda De Coteau (see all)

• Inspiration For Your Ears & Soul: From Lauren Daigle’sInspiring Music to Victory Over Struggle - October 20, 2018
• Blogging Again – Staying Woke & In Faith - October 17, 2018
• Dear America – Nothing Will Change Until You Face Yourself - June 19, 2018

“To speak ill of anyone is to speak ill of yourself.” – Afghan proverb

Her voice sounded harsh, an abrupt contrast to subtle smiles in the children’s eyes, their faces, the color of pennies and cinnamon were filled with naive wonder. I thought of my own young daughter, and waved hello, but felt her stiffen, moving further away.

I watched her patience quickly lessen with each of their attempts at closeness. I wondered how someone could eschew such innocent affection. I dismissed her, and turned my attention back towards waiting for the bus and heading to work. I forgot the incident until weeks later when I watched The Price of The Ticket , a documentary about my favorite writer James Baldwin.

He spoke candidly of a childhood marked by his stepfather’s bitterness and stern manner not with anger, but compassion for that man’s own struggles – poverty and suffocating stubbornness. Again I thought of this young mother on the bus stop, and how easily I judged her, how quickly we all judge in various moments, without reflection and compassion. What do any of us know of someone else’s life, but what we assume?

Social media and the Internet make this particularly effortless; comments on websites are sometimes shared anonymously, there is little regard for others feelings. We hurl criticisms blindly, mostly because of the fear to face our own inadequacies and insecurities.

Compassion requires looking deeply, embracing vulnerability and love. Many of us struggle with this in one way or the other. Yet if we are ever to begin judging less, the first step is committing to seeing others not as separate from you, but as a part of you.

How can you be more compassionate in everyday life?

Live In Color – Emelda