The Color of Compassion

"...whatever you did

for one of the least

of these brothers and sisters of mine,

you did for me"

(Matthew 25.40)

Loving kindness - powerful, life-changing, healing. I recall, as though it were yesterday, the kindness of an acquaintance nearly 30 years ago. My first marriage had come to its conclusion and I was struggling to make sense of its ending one evening when there came a knock at the door. Standing on the porch, with a casserole in hand, was a member of the community who I barely knew. She had heard that I was recently separated and wanted to extend her compassion. Her kindness wrapped around me, and for just a moment my grief was bearable. 

Compassion is powerful. In making ourselves vulnerable and attending to the experiences of others, humbly serving their needs, we exemplify the truest heart of humanity. While we are often convinced by our thoughts to tread the paths of bitterness, complaining, and victim-hood, it is in the gift of compassion that we discover who we are.

“Love and compassion

are necessities, not luxuries.

Without them,

humanity cannot survive.” 

(Dalai Lama XIV, The Art of Happiness)

Compassion is not something that ought to be employed with caution. It is not a commodity in limited supply. Rather, compassion is the infrastructure upon which all human interactions must find their grounding. All beings, the powerful and the week, the rich and the poor, perpetrators and victims, will only grow and become the Love they are created to be as they are enveloped by the sweetness of compassion. 

“Compassion hurts.

When you feel connected to everything, you also feel responsible for everything. And you cannot turn away. Your destiny is bound with the destinies of others. You must either learn to carry the Universe or be crushed by it. You must grow strong enough to love the world, yet empty enough to sit down at the same table with its worst horrors.” 

(Andrew Boyd, Daily Afflictions)

So stated, compassion is rather easier said than done. When my tank is low, when I am tired on the inside, or simply hungry and impatient - then it is that I move away from the solid ground of my being. A server at a restaurant was the recent recipient of my impatience. While his service to our table was somewhat less than exemplary, he was no less in need of patience and loving-kindness than the server who was on their game. 

I acknowledge that I will definitely not be purely compassionate and Loving in all of my thoughts and actions all the time. That is part and parcel on the journey of enlightenment. Nonetheless, I also do not endeavor to justify my miserly employment of humanity's signature power. We are made from Love, and to reflect anything else onto this world is a denial of our essential nature.

“All I ever wanted

was to reach out and touch another human being

not just with my hands

but with my heart.” 

(Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me)

The deeper I dive into the ocean of compassion the more my heart and mind are transformed. The time is now for those with a heart of compassion to shine a bright light into humanity's dark crevices. It takes no special training to be kind; every vocation offers opportunity ample opportunity to practice it. As soon as we awaken in the morning the world awaits our Loving-kindness. So be extreme with your patience; be radical with your Love; be profound in your compassion. It is who you are!

I leave the last word to that wild-haired genius of the 20th century:

“Our task must be to free ourselves...

by widening our circle of compassion

to embrace all living creatures

and the whole of nature and it's beauty.” 

(Albert Einstein)

The color of compassion...

bathing in the womb of Love's embrace.

A light

shines

and

in its glow

is reveled

brokenness

truth

and

hope

Compassion

is

Love

Pray

Breathe

Be

To Ponder Further:

- From the Bible: "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." (Colossians 3.12)

- From Buddhism: "Compassion is a mind that savors only Mercy and love for all sentient beings."(Nagarjuna, Precious Garland 437)

- From Jainism: "Have benevolence towards all living beings, joy at the sight of the virtuous, compassion and sympathy for the afflicted, and tolerance towards the indolent and ill-behaved." (Tattvarthasutra 7.11)