The Eyes of Our Soul & Tears of Compassion

The Buddhist concept of shenpa resonates with me.  

Shenpa is getting hooked by the stuff in our life. The more we twist and turn trying to escape it, the more deeply we are entrenched in the web created by shenpa. We all have that stuff: emotions, people, words, and things that catch us in a sticky web. Words and phrases are perhaps the subtler forms of shenpa.  We find our self stuck by the description found in the dictionary and are unable to get beyond those words to the nuanced meanings. 

Alleviating suffering, the definition of compassion, is a phrase rife with opportunities for shenpa.  We know that alleviate means to make easier or to mitigate.  That part of the phrase seems straightforward. The meaning of suffering is what catches us. In an effort to define suffering, we may use the specific examples of suffering instead of trying to understand the energetic nuances of the word.  We judge experiences of suffering using absolutes that are formed from cultural, societal, and familial understandings. 

The definition for suffering at www.dictionary.com is agony, torment, pain, torture, and distress. We experience suffering from acts that span the spectrum from heinous torture to nebulous distress.  In order to be compassionate, we must understand this definition while being open to how suffering is experienced.  And, through experience, we learn the subtle nuances that may otherwise be missed.  We gain a clearer picture of how we, others, and the world suffer.

For me, life is less about definition and more how we, individually and collectively, experience it.  The words in the definition of suffering are intellectual descriptions.  It seems to me that, to some degree, torment, pain, and torture are all forms of distress.  Maybe the way to navigate through the question, “What is suffering?” is to ask yet another question: “As we share compassion, how do we gain a greater awareness of distress so that we can alleviate it and, in doing so, create opportunities to thrive and flourish?”

To answer that question, let’s begin with yet another. “How do we feel distress?”  Perhaps we are distressed when physically experiencing the pain of an acute or chronic condition.  We may suffer mentally when ruminating over a regret or perceived lost opportunity.  Grief, sorrow, angst, and fear may all be emotional forms of suffering.  And, the absence of a deep connection to the sacred or to our anam cara (soul friend) creates spiritual suffering.

Letting go of our expectations of what suffering should be opens us to experiencing our suffering and the suffering of others at the deepest level—within our soul.  In the ground of our being, we understand that suffering has a poignant, energetic presence that tugs at our compassionate heart.  When we intuitively respond to the suffering in the world, compassion flows like tears from the eyes of our soul.  These tears have the ability to gently wash away distress.

By not defining suffering in black and white terms, we open our self to the many faces of suffering.  As our tears of compassion rain down upon those faces, suffering is washed away; the ground of our being is nourished.  And, in the residue of compassion, hope and peace are sown.  With each successive sharing of compassion we are reminded that we are not alone.  We are the pieces of compassion that, when shared, make the world whole.

Part of a compassionate whole, Vanessa

Vanessa F. Hurst is Chief Compassion Officer at Intent and Action.  As an Intuitive Coach, Community Builder, and Author, she encourages others to engage their compassion through intent and action.

For more information: www.intentandaction.com