Compassion isn't all it's Cracked up to Being
We've been programmed to believe that Compassion is the most noblest of things.
After all Buddha, and Christ were both called,
"Lords of Compassion"
(misnomers used to keep us down).
And the Dalai Lama's always talkin about it.
So it's gotta be good, Right?
Nope..
Here's the Truth:
First you have to understand what Compassion actually means,
because we all have very different definitions,
and few are actually definitions of Compassion.
Compassion can be understood by simply breaking down the word.
Two Parts
Com = With
or
Sharing
And Passion= An Intense emotional reaction.
So with Compassion we are sharing an intense emotional reaction.
Someone lost a loved one...
and so have we..
we understand
we share their Misery.
And we've been told that this somehow reduces their misery...
But actually it has simply Increased the overall misery.
Two miserable people is a lot more misery than one miserable person.
In this Compassion,
to be cpompassionte
we must re connect with our own misery.
What's the point in that?
Compassion is akin to seeing someone
drowning in a pool of Quicksand.
And jumping in to save them.
Noble...
but stupid.
Now there are two people drowning.
What people need to do is Replace Compassion
with LOVE.
Love is not an intense emotional reaction...
Intense emotional reactions....
make clear vision Impossible.
Love gives us clear...
unadulterated Vision.
Whereas the compassionate person is jumping in the quicksand
to save another...and drowning in their emotionally shared turmoil.
Love simply stands on the edge of the pool...
And throws out a rope.
Replace Compassion with Love.
You will be better off
and so will the whole word.
So many Good Hearts
when you ask them to define Compassion
Are actually defining Love....
Compassion is the sharing of an intense emotional reaction..
It is counterproductive.
Love....
Has nothing at all to do with Emotion..
In fact, Pure Love and emotion
can not exist in the same place at the same time.
Replace Compassion with Love
Feed the Love and Joy
Not the Misery and Pain.
you are so right.... when you think about this, and actually I have felt less compassion and just love lately and wondered "wonder why I feel this way", and it's probably cause I am feelin' the truth!
ReplyDeleteMuch love to you and your gorgeous family.
Excellent, Jeff! Thanks for the clarity :-)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on this one. I read the Dali Lama's book and really didn't get how sharing pain etc is in any way going to help. Understanding, and helping and love are, as you say much more useful - in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI liked that book, but not that bit. Seemed a bit silly after so much common sense.
This is great food for thought. No word can really be broken down into it's parts to create the entire definition. There's so much more. A search on dictionary.reference.com shows that that sharing of an emotional reaction is accompanied by a desire to alleviate suffering. Also food for thought. We can desire to alleviate all we want, but it's not going to accomplish anything. Action is required. We speak in terms of Love in our household, and I like your use and expression of it. For those who think in terms of Compassion, a simple transition to Love could be Compassion + Action. Thanks for the thought-provoking post. I'm going to share it with my kids and family.
ReplyDeleteThank you all, this is a hard one for a lot of folks....because we've all come to define the word differently.... but it's actual meaning is pretty clear. Thanks for your comments. I don't get notified by Blogger and never know when folks comment....feel like that voice in the wilderness sometimes..... thank you
ReplyDelete