Compassion was a word I thought deeply about last year. I wrote articles about what it meant and how important it was to teach kids compassion. I read some fabulous books about the topic and even saw the Dalai Lama in person. I tried to apply it to my personal life, noting areas where I could show a little more compassion.
The word arose again the other night while listening to President Obama’s speech in Tuscon after a shooting in a movie theatre.
Here are some of the lines I found most inspiring.
“All of us – we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations.”
“Those who are killed are part of our family.”
Compassion is often closely linked to empathy, putting yourself in another’s shoes and feeling their pain. Yet, A.H. Almaas, in his book, Diamond Heart, Book One: Elements of the Real in Man,” says that this is the elementary level of compassion.
Compassion, seen more deeply, is all about telling the truth. In other words, compassion leads to the truth. Almaas says that this form of compassion “helps us to tolerate the hurt of seeing the truth.” When someone is compassionate towards us, we trust them enough to be vulnerable, to show them the truth of our pain. Their compassion does not take the pain away, but makes it meaningful.
I think that is what we saw in Tuscon, the truth of the pain. And we felt it as if it were our own. But it was almost bearable when you saw everyone just being there for each other.
Related Reading:
** Books mentioned have Amazon affiliate links, meaning I make a few cents if you purchase through my link. I only recommend books that I’ve read.
by Marc Ian Barasch
by A.H. Almaas
not bad
wonderful
i really like it