“Real compassion kicks butt and takes names. If you are not ready for this fire, then find a New Age, sweetness- and-light, perpetually smiling teacher. . . . But stay away from those who practice real compassion because they will fry your ass, my friend.”
– Ken Wilber
I get amazed how often people mistake sympathy for compassion. Oh we say we want compassion especially during those times when the world hasn’t been going our way and perhaps a bit of self-pity has crept in. Many of us seem to equate this with people helping us because they feel sorry for us. The most compassionate people whom I have met don’t act like that. They tend to have little sympathy and can be very direct with their observations. They may yell, they may scream, they may say things that pull us up so short that we, with a mirror placed in front of our souls may start to feel even worse. When we look in the eyes of these people we see the love and often the mirror they show us are themselves.
In our most compassionate moments we not only see our brother’s pain but experience it ourselves. We can often see how someone has ended up in the mess they are in or even in no mess at all as much as experiencing what they need to in furtherance of their own growth. We also know that part of it sometimes is that they have to experience the feelings that they are feeing in order to grow without the solace band aid of our sympathy.
I have been on both ends. I have felt true compassion from a few very special people who have pointed the way for me. I have also striven to become more compassionate myself.How successful have i been? I’ll let you know when I feel i hit a stoping point in my growth. Blessings, G
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The first image tonight is indeed the inverse of last nights. I rather like it this way
Drawing In-Radiating Out 2 by G A Rosenberg
Emerging Mandala by G A Rosenberg