I recently listened to an interview
with Jack Kornfield, a well-known meditation teacher, and he elaborated an
interesting distinction between empathy and compassion. He said that
while empathy allows us to feel each other's emotions, compassion triggers us
to act on our empathy; not from a place of pity or egocentrism (to make us feel
good about ourselves), but on the basis of shared humanity (we're a global
family and all in this together).
I have always been a bit sensitive
to the pain/anger/frustration of others, and my response has usually been an
attempt at compassion, but laced with pity and/or the assumption that I can and
must solve the problem at hand (ego). How would it look like for me to
act compassionately based on Jack's definition? What would it look like
if we treated everyone as our immediate family, offering the same level of
support we would offer our partner, parents, siblings, and etcetera? How
can you create space for your beloved to feel and process what he/she is going through
and decide for him/herself what's needed for healing? Sometimes a hug,
ear to listen, or a word of empathy is the most compassionate thing.
Imagine if we could all make compassion our new way of living.
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