At Prairiewoods, one of the values we hold is compassion. It is central to both the mission of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (FSPA) and our work here at Prairiewoods.
When you think of the word compassion, what comes to mind? Do you think of it as being nice to the people you meet (kindness)? Or feeling sorry for people who are sad because they have suffered a loss of some kind (sympathy)? Maybe you think of it as coming alongside someone and feeling with them—happy when they’re happy, sad when they’re sad (empathy).
In our common usage of the word, we’re often imprecise, but those who study compassion are much more specific about what compassion means.
Compassion & Suffering
Compassion involves both suffering and the awareness of suffering. It could be a person tells you their story, or you see something on the news or read it online, and you may only experience awareness and it stops there. If you feel a connection to that person, and you feel badly that they are suffering, then you have experienced sympathy or empathy.
With compassion, you take it a step further and feel called to help relieve their suffering by taking action. That action can be dramatic, like pulling someone from a burning building, or calm and quiet like sitting in silence holding the hand of someone who has just had a loved one pass away.
We often think of compassion as only directed toward a human being or a group of human beings, but we can feel compassion for all kinds of creatures.
Just think of all the animal rescue organizations in your community, or the friend you have who carefully carries every stray bug outside. Some may even feel compassion for the planet, trying to alleviate the perceptible suffering of Earth.
How to Have More Compassion
During this time, most of us are aware of a great deal of suffering experienced by distant strangers, but have few ways to alleviate it. So, how do we begin to expand our circle of concern and attend to the needs of those with whom we do have contact? How can we extend a sense of connection, even a sense of kinship, with a widening group of people? How can we remain curious about the causes of the suffering we see?
An important element to this is concerning ourselves with self compassion and self care. When our spirits are cared for and when we’ve had the quiet time we need, we are better able to manage how we respond, to recognize the inherent worth and dignity of each person. When we are tired and anxious, we have difficulty regulating our emotions so it’s difficult to offer a listening ear to others. We find ourselves reacting rather than responding to the person in front of us.
When we spend time in meditation and prayer, we don’t operate on autopilot and our responses are more carefully considered. We’re more inclined to pause before reacting, to feel a connection to the person in front of us, and more likely to offer a gentle, heart-felt response.
May your time at Prairiewoods enliven your sense of compassion for yourself, for others and for the Earth.