The Gift of Compassion

Courtesy of Stuart Miles/freedigitaphotos.net

of Compassion

Last May I attended a talk given by Matthieu Riccard, a Tibetan Buddhist monk. After his sharing about compassion, he welcomed questions. Another attendee began her question with a comment. She said it was easy for her to show compassion for those people she loved. She asked how she could show compassion for those who did not have the same life philosophy she held. How could she be compassionate to those involved in mountaintop removal and other environmentally unkind actions? These were people with whom she had no personal connection. How could compassion be her response to their behavior?

After a brief pause, Matthieu responded, “Compassion is not a reward for good behavior.”

Those words reached out to me twining deeply into my essence. With that reminder something shifted inside of me. I listened with the ear of my heart to that shift and felt compassion with a new awareness. For me, compassion no longer was an option. It was a choice. But, more than that, compassion became a right for others and myself and a privilege to share. In that aha moment, I recognized the path of the bodhisattva.  It is down this is the path that those who are committed to sharing compassion for all and everything venture.

Although compassion is heart-based, the head, our mind, is integral to sharing our compassion. Questioning how to form an appropriate compassionate response creates a holistic approach to being compassionate. When our response is the result of engaging our head and our heart, we are more likely to be bringers of compassion. If we do not approach sharing compassion holistically, we run the risk of our compassionate response being the impetus of enabling another to cause harm.

I ponder the shadow side of compassion this week. What happens when we alleviate the suffering of others in ways that empower their self-righteous indignation?  What happens when the reactions fueled by this indignation they cause harm? Sharing compassion is a not as simple as it may seem. It’s the balance. The goal is to alleviate another’s suffering while negating their desires to be hurtful or harmful. In a sense our compassionate response triggers their compassionate response and healing.

No answer to this pondering about compassion…just an open-ended question. I would welcome your response to the question of how to be compassionate in ways that are loving, gentle, and honest without empowering the other to be compassionless. 

Welcoming Your Response, 

Vanessa

www.healingwillow.com

The Wild and the Wasteland

The Wild brings life to the barren. 

The Wild is creeping into the barren areas bringing life. As I wandered through the wetlands even last week, those spots of dead, brown grass and cracked, dry ground were largely lifeless. Yesterday the desolate areas were smaller and the wildness of Spring larger.

As I wandered down the paths, I turned inward, sidestepped, and slid into another more acute way of sensing. With each physical step I took, I moved deeper into my awareness until I reached the place of hyperawareness. Suddenly I saw, felt, and smelled the Wild with clarity. Hyperaware, I sensed the Wild creeping into the dead places, burrowing deeply, and planting seeds of life.

Ground violets, yarrow, dandelions, heal all, wild onions, and the beginnings of clover are all taking root. While the domestic grass remains, the Wild provides the texture and the abundance of life in both the meadow and the wetlands. The Wild daringly gifts the park with glorious, budding life. With my inner eyes turned outward, I relish in the hope this life brings.

The barren areas remind me of those tough places in my life where all seems lost and there seemingly is no hope of new growth or transformation. Yesterday, I saw, smelled, heard, and felt the Wild reclaiming and healing those desolate places. The reclamation did not happen in a moment, but over many moments. And, in my hyperawareness the poignancy of the healing was revealed.

Again, as I look at the Wild’s reclaiming, I sidestep further into my hyperawareness. I hear the Wild’s laughter in the breeze. See the Wild dance to her unique rhythm; a rhythm deeply connected to and resonating with the Sacred. In my body, mind, spirit, and heart I am so aware of the courage, the daring, and the curiosity of the Wild. She continues to create and flourish by dancing with each opportunity. Success is not a possibility but a certainty.

The Wild takes me into her arms. I experience the dance by seeing sharply, listening intently, and feeling passionately. As I dance, the seeds of hope and possibility and success fly from my twirling skirt and come to rest in the barren places. And, the Wild seeds take root and sprout. The Wild encourages me to embrace the wildness within myself. Once more I slip into my hyperawareness, and my wildness welcomes me home.

How are you living in Wild Intent this Spring?

Vanessa

www.healingwillow.com

Detour or Destination

The birds are singing as I leave the apartment early each morning. By the time I drop off my son at school, the early sunrise sky has given way to the pale light of morn. For several moments, I bask in the newness, the purity of the early morning. Through conscious breathing, I prepare myself for the coming day. In those brief moments I wonder what the unfolding day will bring. What challenges and opportunities will it share? How will I respond or react to those opportunities?

As I drive away from the school, I wonder how I will navigate the twists and the turns and the detours of this day’s path. The coward me hopes that the road between sunrise and sunset is relatively straight, evenly paved, and without trying fellow travelers. The courageous me daringly pokes at the coward me. For courageous me knows that no matter what unfolds, through courage and humility I can choose to respond with love and compassion. This is my only real choice through the day.

I move through the day conscious of the turns, potholes, and detours. The journey through this day is all in the navigation. My awareness tunes into my resistance. I recognize when the first response is not a response but is a reaction made out of frustration and fear. When the bubbles of reactive fear rise to the surface, I gentle remind myself to breathe and reconnect to my internal GPS.  Through my inner knowing I understand the path to take. This journey is about trusting that my intuition will lead me.

Often the detours arrive suddenly and without warning. On autopilot do I follow those orange and black signs believing that they will lead me to the main road? Or, do I accept without a doubt that the detour is actually my main thoroughfare for the day? On the path of detour I am able to interact with many people, places, and situations not found on what I consider my main road. This new route gives me so many opportunities to make a difference in the world by willingly being of the world.

My journey is first and foremost about me. I have opportunities to radically change the world. While each interaction may positively impact the other, it also has the opportunity to wrap me in grace. What I share with the world comes back to me in a grace-filled tenfold.

The path of curves and detours and squiggles is mine. All my actions are mine. Any good that I do is mine. Although the journey is about me, I can still be a light of grace with those whom are in my community.

How are you living each grace-filled moment?

Welcoming The Intimate Stranger

Walking through the park I basked in cool breeze puffs and warm sun caresses. Enjoying the bits of budding green, I walk round and round the path. As I crossed the bridges, I looked for life in the creek. I peered into the sky and trees to view the newly migrated birds. Nature enjoyed in ways possible only after a harsh, colder winter.

As I meandered down the path, I also people watched. My walk would not have the same feel, the same energy, if it were not for my fellow sojourners. With these strangers I form community if only for a brief moment. And, with these intimate strangers, I experience and share the joy of being in the beauty of Spring unfolding. Although I walk alone in the wetlands, I am part of a greater community of walkers sharing in the beauty of an early Spring day.

Engaging my fellow travelers while maintaining respectful boundaries can be a daunting, tricky task. I pay particular attention to the body language of my fellow walkers. When I look at the other, I notice the tilt of their head. If our eyes meet, I smile, say hello, or even offer a smidgen conversation. Or, perhaps they initiate first contact. How wonderful these moment when our eyes meet and words flow! Our interactions, through brief, are tinged with the joy and the happiness of being in the beauty of nature.

Reaching out to the unknown person, the intimate stranger, often radically changes my day. With that interaction, the person becomes more real to me. More than a stranger…they become part of my circle of being. I no longer feel so alone, and solutions to what I believe is impossible may manifest. This happens because either I reached out to another or I responded to the other as they reached out to me.

Moving from stranger to fellow sojourners invites us into a closer, more intimate connection. Although this contact happens in the blink of an eye, it may stimulate a radically shift in our life. We open our self to a world made new all because we took a chance to reach out to a stranger and share words of joyful greeting.

Peace, Vanessa

www.healingwillow.com

Who will you invite into your circle of being?