Reconceptualizing Compassion

   One thing that has occurred to me in writing about and speaking with others about Compassion is how many misconceptions and preconceptions people place on Compassion.

   One quote I found illustrates this quite well:

       “Sometimes we think that to develop an open heart, to be truly loving and compassionate, means that we need to be passive, to allow others to abuse us, to smile and let anyone do what they want with us. Yet this is not what is meant by compassion. Quite the contrary. Compassion is not at all weak. It is the strength that arises out of seeing the true nature of suffering in the world. Compassion allows us to bear witness to that suffering, whether it is in ourselves or others, without fear; it allows us to name injustice without hesitation, and to act strongly, with all the skill at our disposal. To develop this mind state of compassion ... is to learn to live, as the Buddha put it, with sympathy for all living beings, without exception.”

       - Sharon Salzberg, 1952, author, meditation teacher

   The first point Salzberg brings up is the “passivity” misconception. Compassion is not about being a doormat.

   Salzberg points out that Compassion is about finding the strength to face suffering, to be a witness to suffering, and to be fearless. She calls upon us to be warriors by naming injustice.

   Her description of Compassion is anything but weak.

   Another quote that serves to sweep away misconceptions about compassion looks at our perceptions of ourselves from an historical context:

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places -- and there are so many -- where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

- Howard Zinn, 1922-2010, historian, author, activist

   Zinn asks us to look at ourselves in our entirety, and in terms of our capacity for compassion despite the negativity we may observe in the moment.

   By observing our human capacities in context, rather than compartmentalizing the parts of daily life that serve to demoralize and disenfranchise, we can have hope that the small acts of compassion – in the moment – can have long lasting impacts.

~*~

   Today’s quotes were gleaned from: http://www.wisdomquotes.com/topics/compassion/.

   To read more about compassion, go to: www.CompassionSpace.com.