Compassion, – It’s not just for your friends anymore

Much of my time lately has been spent considering the concept of compassion and its power to set humanity on a new course. As part of this interest I have been focusing on the examples of compassion that I see in my daily life. This experience has been an eye opener.

While I have witnessed many examples of compassion between friends and members of communities, much less common are examples of compassion expressed for those outside our comfort zones. Inherent in the understanding of compassion as a spiritual principle is the ability to apply it to “The Other”. This concept requires that we direct compassion to those who are different than ourselves in religion, race, culture, economic status, nationality, political ideology, gender identity etc.

As a Pagan, my heart breaks when I hear stories of Pagan children being tormented for their beliefs. This reaction, however, is not a reflection of spiritual compassion, only my normal human tendency to empathize with those with whom I share a commonality. Spiritual compassion is not the same as the emotional response we feel when a member of our community experiences a tragedy.

As the concept of compassion for “others” becomes more central to my thinking, every thing I do begins to be informed by it. Compassion is at its most powerful when expressed in support of those whom we have very little in common. Knowing this I had to ask myself some hard questions.

Am I as passionate about the rights of other religions as my own?

As a straight man, am I ardent about other’s ability to freely and openly embrace their gender identity?

When I engage those on the political right, do I speak with respect, compassion and a willingness to listen?

Would I risk my life to save a stranger as I would my friends and family?

My answers to these questions and many more are helping me focus on the practice of compassion in my daily life. It is, however, a broader application of this principle that represents the best hope for humanity. In the end, we are one human community who must live together. To do this we as people, communities, nations, and religions must embrace compassion as the road to understanding, tolerance, cooperation and peace.

Peter Dybing

Withholding compassion from those you don’t know only leads to the inability to express it to those you do