Welcome to Cultivating Compassion
by the Soul Matters Sharing Circle team
It’s tempting to think of this month’s theme as one of our lighter, more pleasant ones. After all, compassion sounds...well, nice. It conjures warm feelings and tender thoughts. Images come to mind of people telling each other they are holding them in their hearts. It would seem to be all about emotional connection and empathetic feeling.
But then along comes a quote like this:
“Compassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you also feel responsible for everything. And you cannot turn away. Your destiny is bound with the destinies of others.” - Andrew Boyd
Or this:
“True compassion is to engage in the suffering of others.” - The Charter for Compassion
Both remind us that compassion is not just niceness and thoughtful feelings. It’s about something deeper: an impulse that drives us to action.
Indeed, that may be compassion’s defining characteristic; it is distinguished by doing. To feel the pain of another, empathy has that covered. But compassion takes it a step further. It urges us to do something about that pain.
In other words, compassion calls us to change things! It’s not just about comforting others; it’s about our comfort getting disturbed. It’s about connecting with another’s pain and struggle so deeply that we can’t rest until they rest. When we feel compassion - real compassion - we don’t just understand another’s pain, we want it to stop. And then we do what’s needed to make it stop.
And if that’s the case, then maybe compassion’s question for us this month isn’t what we first imagined. Instead of asking us, “How deeply are you able to feel?” maybe it’s asking, “What are you prepared to do?”
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WUU is part of a network of Unitarian Universalist congregations that explore the same monthly theme, serving as a web of connection through sermons, reflections, children’s programs, and the arts. Soul Matters resource packets encourage reflection on the theme throughout the month. WUU members can access Soul Matters packets in the Member Area of this website and through Breeze, our online directory. Visitors can contact the office to request packets.