Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things. --Thomas Merton
I found this great post by Rev. Frank Schaefer and I wanted to share a short piece (his entire post)
“I got really excited about this story [Luke 7:11-17] when I took my Greek bible out and looked up the actual word used to describe Jesus “compassion.” It is the word splagchnon. It’s not so much the sound of this word that excited me. That would be sad. But rather, the meaning of the term which, according to the dictionary is: one’s innermost self or feelings, heart, affection, love and …here it is: the word for entrails is related to the word compassion, perhaps best rendered in the English with “the pit of the stomach.
Have you ever experienced this sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach or your “entrails” when you heard really shocking news, perhaps about the illness or death of a loved one? Well that’s the feeling Jesus experienced. Wow, he did not even know this woman, really. Just saw her for the first time and yet….he feels for her loss like she was his own family member.”
I am familiar with the “gut reaction” or the “visceral response” but I never thought of these as a compassion response. Clearly I have not had a full understanding of the power of compassion. I know that when I went to New Orleans last summer I was listening to my cab driver’s story of Hurricane Katrina and I could feel his story in my stomach and throughout my being. This happened a few more times as I heard individual stories. I took action, by sharing their stories with others and praying for them. It is amazing how your whole body can react and how that energy can transform you from being still to taking action. When have you felt that compassion reaction? How did you take action? Have you felt compassion for those affected by the BP oil spill? Or compassion for your friend who lost their job? Who did you feel compassion for today?
How do I begin to develop my sense of Compassion? I went searching on the internet for an answer to this question and came across this article A Guide to Cultivating Compassion in Your Life, With 7 Practices by Leo Babauta.
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” - Dalai Lama
I love this quote, and check out the definition of compassion from Wikipedia:
"Compassion is an emotion that is a sense of shared suffering, most often combined with a desire to alleviate or reduce the suffering of another; to show special kindness to those who suffer. Compassion essentially arises through empathy, and is often characterized through actions, wherein a person acting with compassion will seek to aid those they feel compassionate for.
Compassionate acts are generally considered those which take into account the suffering of others and attempt to alleviate that suffering as if it were one’s own. In this sense, the various forms of the Golden Rule are clearly based on the concept of compassion.
Compassion differs from other forms of helpful or humane behavior in that its focus is primarily on the alleviation of suffering.
Shared suffering, keen interdependence, we are all connected and then more we share our life with others the more opportunities we have to feel compassion and happiness."
What do you think? I also want to share a link to “There is always a Song by Compassion Art” (lyrics, video)
I hope you take the time to comment and please consider joining the conversation Thursday June 3rd at 7PM EST and or Monday June 7th at 8:30pm EST for a live audio discussion on Skype.com just set up an account make sure your microphone and speakers work and call into “bythewaycommunity”. Talk to you soon!
I could not resist one final quote:
The whole purpose of religion is to facilitate love and compassion, patience, tolerance, humility, forgiveness. --H.H. the Dalai Lama
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