A Rant About Compassion

I just changed the tag line of my blog.
I replaced the word CONFIDENCE with the word COMPASSION.

I was compelled to do this; couldn't stop myself.
Without a doubt, I believe that compassion is the sturdy foundation upon which wholehearted, confident, joyful LEAPING is supported.

Since the beginning of this year - I've been finding myself in moments (with myself, clients, family, friends, strangers) where the word compassion continues to come out of my mouth.
It just shoots out, unwilling to be denied.

I'm sure everyone is getting tired of my compassion mantra.
But - I'm not.
I'm just getting started.

Yes - I have written about compassion in a past blog entry - Radical Compassion - to be precise. But this morning I'm feeling fierce about compassion in a new way; fierce compassion, passionate compassion, kick-butt compassion. I'm on fire with compassion.

Why compassion as the foundation for LEAPING?

It's in those moments when we are highly emotionally triggered (fear, hurt, shame, etc.) or get into a judgmental, self-righteous, self-defensive jag that compassion is most needed. We are all Bozos on the Bus (I've posted this link before - but do check out Elizabeth Lesser's Bozo chapter in her book Broken Open). None of us is without faltering and fears. This planet and all its creatures is in need of megadoses of fierce compassion.

I fully understand (and experience) how hard it is to push the pause button and not speak out of a place of anger, attack, self-defense. I fully understand that we often want the other to offer their hand first in apology or repair. Yet (kinda self-evident and obvious) if we all wait for the other - we will be sinking hard and deep into the no-compassion zone. This zone of no-compassion leads to domestic violence, harmful actions, intense emotional suffering ... and ultimately war and global destruction.

To get really fundamental about this rant - we break each other with our lack of compassion; we repair each other with our wealth of compassion.

Each day we have the opportunity of choosing fierce, passionate, kick-butt compassion.
There are innumerable moments in our days when we can move through the most knotted conflict by digging deep and offering compassion.

There's a great video clip of the Dalai Lama offering his own Dalai Lama-like rant about the importance of our all getting down with fierce compassion. Might just be my projection - but as I watched this clip I thought to myself - this guy is getting really tired of repeating himself and answering the question 'what will heal the earth and its people.'

Here's the Dalai Lama letting it rip: 
"On every occasion I stress the importance of warm heartedness.... compassion, great, great compassion. In the holistic view - everything is interdependent - my future depends on the other - therefore I have to look after their interests...this is the wiser way of looking after ourselves. Sometimes we are narrow-minded and we think of only ourselves - and then we forget about the other - this is a FOOLISH way!  Good, that's all." 

That's all indeed.

I'm definitely coming from urgency right now.
I'm most certainly hitting you over the head with my invitation to bring compassion into the most challenging of moments.
I guess I'm offering you the same loving, supportive, stop-being-a-knucklehead, affectionate talking to - that I give to myself after I've gotten caught in the no-compassion zone.

I offer my apologies for all of you who are truly walking your talk in the compassion zone.
I offer deep gratitude for how you are creating a more compassionate world.

In my last post I said I'd be writing shorter, more playful posts.
I also said I was going to let it rip.
Hoping that you can hear the playfulness and compassion (!) amidst the ripping fire of my thoughts.

As usual - I invite you to KEEP LEAPING - and in this instance - to LEAP toward me and share whatever rants my rant has catalyzed.

Comments

  1. The thunder that struck me the most was what Dalai said here:"In the holistic view - everything is interdependent - my future depends on the other - therefore I have to look after their interests...this is the wiser way of looking after ourselves." WHAM! It's so elemental, but we are so ego-drive that we just don't see that and forget about the interconnectedness we have. You ARE on fire with your message and I think I am getting it!

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  2. Deb - my sweet pal in the compassionate zone - yes - thunder - love that word. If you watch the video of the Dalai Lama - he is so intense and wonderful. So - let's get on with it -in the small ways that are the big ways - each and every encounter where we choose (and it is a kick-butt, not always easy warrior's choice - in the midst of our ego-driven default settings) is what makes it thunderously possible! Thanks for listening...and responding.

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