I had the most interesting conversation tonight with some
truly remarkable women…
What was interesting about tonight’s conversation was the
question that was posed at the beginning that brought forth a whirlwind of
insight and wisdom. “What does
compassion mean to you?”
I took a moment to reflect on it and I realized that to me
to be ‘compassionate’ means to ‘come share my passion’… so what does that mean…
to be passionate about something is to care deeply about it in such a way as to
be almost obsessive, to the exclusion of all else. Often times the word is used in relation to
challenging social situations like poverty and oppression and in this context
the above definition still rings true.
If you are homeless, in poverty or even ill, and individuals act of
compassion means that they become involved in your NEED for food, shelter or
your journey to get well… They care about what it is you in that moment care
most about… they come and share your current passion…
I understand that this is a unique and perhaps even for some
challenging way of looking at this word yet it opens up so many new
possibilities for its use. Young people
who are having challenges accessing education, women who are having challenges
accessing freedoms, minorities that are having challenges being recognized as
equals… All of these people are truly PASSIONATE about their needs… and when we
offer to assist them – well you see what I mean.
Yet why not take it even further, in a world where we can
reach out and share our visions, our dreams and our passions with others why
not bring forward a new understanding that sometimes it is just as important to
be compassionate towards those who are fighting to succeed at making those
dreams a reality. Be it in the quest of
a budding young artist to be recognised, or in the young musicians quest to be
heard… Is it not compassionate of us to share their art, to share their music
and encourage others to do the same?
I’m not quite sure after tonight if I will ever look at the
word compassionate quite the same way again, what I am sure of is that I will
broaden my compassion so that it not only reaches those who are struggling to
survive but so that it helps to uplift those who are striving to thrive.
Niki Norlock,
author ofTruth - My Synchromystic Journey
OH, wow!! Thank you for bringing an even deeper level of understanding to this way of looking at compassion! :-)
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful! I love your perspective on this, Niki! Love, Christine
ReplyDelete