Compassion for Haiti

As we watch the devastation in Haiti we are having many thoughts. What are they? What is the thought system that designs these thoughts?

Knowing this is a key to lasting Peace!

We may feel, and quite rightly, that the Haiti situation calls for ACTION, but I want to stay on the subject of our thinking for just a while!


First, let's talk about this word, COMPASSION!

For most of us, when we hear this word, we envision examples in the extreme! We see a person losing it while witnessing a wrenching scene of the suffering of others! We may have a variety of reactions to this and from those reactions, we may choose to DO many different things. We believe this negative emotion to be COMPASSION. We are moved to ACT, but in acting we can find ourselves in a sort of trap! The TRAP is that our rush to ACT interferes with any questioning about what we are really feeling! I am suggesting that it is NOT COMPASSION that we are feeling!

We don't spend enough time thinking about the thoughts that drive our actions! We think that we are defined by our actions and therefore our actions are the only things that count. As we discover ourselves, it is not enough to "do the 'right' things for the 'wrong' reasons" and move on! In the world of self discovery, it is that which is going on with us that actually indicates how we see our selves. That is to say, as we see the world, so we see ourselves!

Compassion is, therefore, a POWERFUL mirror!

In fact, compassion is what we know about ourselves within our experience of others! To FEEL SORRY for what happens to another is to define the other person as a victim. It is better to stand with others as they climb out of the rubble rather than draping them with our tear-laden wet blanket. Those who are in extreme situations of suffering are already pressing against gravity of that situation! Feeling sorry for others is not compassion! It is Guilt!

One of the most powerful barriers to wellness in soldiers' suffering from PTSD occurs when they witness the death of a buddy! It is not just the loss of the buddy; it is the powerful relief response that IT WASN'T ME! Sorrow then becomes the emotion that takes us away from the guilt of having this response. That is, we FEEL SORRY because it is easier than profound GUILT!

Guilt is a product of judgment of SELF! In other words, what we have been calling compassion for someone else is actually ALL ABOUT US! We see the victim because that is how we see ourselves! In fact, we see victims everywhere we look!

Now for ACTION! Contribute to the aid effort! Keep contributing! As we do so, celebrate our ability to participate in Haiti's triumph in adversity! A woman rescued from the rubble came out singing! She said "Don't be afraid of death!"

There is pain and suffering AND Triumph! What will YOU Celebrate?