HERE'S ME IN A "NUTSHELL", HOW I INTERACT WITH OTHERS
I am clearly a compassionate person; I believe that you should do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and know that friends help their friends. But with me compassion is just one side of the coin; the other being a side that also expects others to hold up their end of the bargain. So I help others but, it is with the expectation that others don't take advantage of me or try to put one over on me. In short, I expect others to treat me as I treat them.
And for those people who do ask for help when they should have taken responsibility for themselves? This is the time when my more hard-edged side comes out. I'm skeptical of people when they expect others to bail them out of trouble; if they got themselves into the bind, they should work their way out of the trouble. If it's an emergency, or if it's a friend who has been there for me when I have had hard times, I'm there in a quick minute. But I'm a discerning person and to me, there is a big difference between an emergency and a self-inflicted wound. I just look at the facts: how the situation developed, how serious the situation, and how they can or cannot get through things on their own. The history I have with the person and with similar situations will show me if this is or is not a time for me to get involved.
I also have some limits when it comes to being with people. Sure some people need to be with others all the time and seem to get recharged by helping out most anyone else. But that's not me. I do best if I spend a fair amount of time on my own. Not that i'm a loner, just that, "Time spent by yourself is not wasted at all with you." I've come to understand that if I don't take good care of myself then, eventually, I'll be not good to anyone, including myself or others.
SUMMARY of ME
So my compassion is tempered by realism. My sympathy for people in trouble is balanced by a critical evaluation of how they got themselves to the place they are. And I've learned to take good care of myself, so I have something to give to my friends or others truly in need.
