Compassion is a prerequisite for love. We are currently in a paradigm where most humans are only compassionate towards the people that sleep under the same roof as them. Now, we can argue about whether it's by design or not, but it seems like generation to generation, the human species as a whole loses a little more of its sense of oneness and community. That oneness and community is the actual substance of compassion. How can you have true compassion for someone without connection.
Slowly but surely, this lack of selflessness is having a devastating effect on the family dynamic globally. I remember growing up family reunions and community gatherings being a regular thing. These moments of connection nurtured bonds between people and created a sense of reverence for your fellow man. Nowadays it takes weddings or funerals, probably the most extreme representations of the poles of love and pain, to bring us together. What happened?
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That's a conversation for another day. Let's focus on the positive side of this - the ability we have to regain our sense of compassion and recognize what we can do to re-develop it. Lately I've been reading more poetry, the Sufi Mystic Rumi to be specific, and his works constantly reinforce the duality of pain and love. How pain can make us more appreciative of love; how enduring pain together, i.e. compassion, can lead to love (but not the other way around because love is the higher form); how pain is what caused the thorns on the rose.
These realizations have allowed me to craft compassionate experiences out of situations I used to consider mundane. Even small things like asking somebody "how's life been treating you?" has sprouted some meaningful conversations. You never know what people are going through. Thats why its important to lead with compassion, and not your thorns.
The origin of the word also gives us some insight. Compassion is a compound word obviously, but the "passion" segment actually derives from the latin word "pati", which means "to suffer". "To suffer with" - that's more fitting to define the term. I see it as being an outlet for someone that is experiencing pain in their experience. It's like volunteering to take the load off a little.
One of my solutions for being more compassionate this year is to give more donations and participate in some form of charity. In Islam, this is referred to as "Khidma". The purpose of Khidma is to purify the heart through acts of selflessness and compassion. Understand, there are plenty of ways to "purify the heart", Khidma being just one of them.
I'm not Muslim, but I take time to study and participate in the teachings of multiple schools of thought, and spend a lot of time trying to connect the dots. There's a lot we can all learn from just taking some time to appreciate other spiritual practices. That in itself is a form of compassion.
Let's try to figure out more ways to lead with our roses in 2025.
Peace
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