In a flourishing land not so far away or long ago, there was plenty for all. Then some discovered that more for them was better. Piece by precious piece they stole the enough that was rightfully another’s. Larders filled by the few; the land became arid. Those with more looked disdainfully upon those with less. They proclaimed, “Oh, ho! If only you would try harder! I take for your own good. Learn from me so that you may become successful.”
The shaming and blaming continued as the baron thieves stole more and more. The land became a parched desert with few oasis. Through othering and objectifying, certain people were seen as less than human. Soon the internal lives of the thieves reflected the parched external land. Their most treasured reservoir had dried up — their ability to be empathetic.
Empathy. Compassion. Nonviolence. Relationship. I’ve written books and present programs on each. Organizations like the Charter for Compassion encourage individuals and communities to grow and share their compassionate spirits. Many people reseed the arid land with their compassionate hearts.
I look at the evolution of a world where one person’s overabundance necessitates another person’s poverty. I wonder where is the empathy that seeds the root of compassion. The answer to my pondering is found in the precarious balance of good and evil seeded in the ground of each person’s being.
But, what is evil? For me, the definition of Captain G. M. Gilbert, a US Army psychologist present at the Nuremberg Trials, resonates. He says, “Evil, I think, is the absent of empathy." It is through empathy or the lack of it, we choose to live walled off from the world’s suffering or be active alleviators of suffering. In each and every choice we nurture good or sustain evil.
Few of us are 100% good or 100% evil. We act upon a continuum. Sometimes we grow the fibrous stalks of evil for many reasons — unaware, tired, suffering within our self — being empathetic takes a lot of energy. At other times, the evil grows from a blatant disregard for others. Ultimately, the good and evil we grow is a result of both our intentional and unconscious nurturing of our ground of spirit. We nurture the fragile seedlings of relationships through understanding or we grow the stalks of evil — apathy and narcissism — through disengagement.
Living in our world can be emotionally exhausting. Maybe some have become desensitized to the suffering in the world; maybe others never recognized that suffering exists. Who knows why anyone experiences a empathetic drought? Maybe origin of the drought is not as important as how we as individuals and community reclaim our empathetic nature.
How do we become an world of empathy? Through our actions as individuals and as members of community: By being aware of the suffering in the world but not allowing our self to become consumed by it. Through the practice self compassion and within proactive groups who power their action with compassion. By waking up and stepping into our empathetic spirit. By using our empathy as a spring board that alleviates suffering and roots out the stalks of evil.
Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is a Neural Synchrony™ facilitator, Professional Speaker, and Author who weaves her inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are A Constellation of Connections: Contemplative Relationships and Engaging Compassion Through Intent & Action. Vanessa assists clients in navigating their life paths with intuition. Contact Vanessa @ vanessa@intentandaction.com for keynotes, programs, and consultations.
Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2018
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