Tonight begins our year long journey of reading and discussing "Twelve steps to compassion" by Karen Armstrong. Hopefully we will also begin to look at ways we can be more compassionate to people whose paths cross ours and begin to live intentionally compassionate live. I am intrigued by Armstrong's book and have not succumbed to pre-reading, we will journey and learn together. I am sure our individual points of view will be challenged, both religiously and socially. I hope that we will each come to a deeper or different understanding of compassion and how we might enact compassion in our lives. Perhaps we will make our small corner of the world a better place. Do you think we sometimes confuse compassion with pity?
Some would ask, "Why cultivate compassion?"
What do you think?
Ruthwell Cross
Ruthwell Scotland
It is not difficult for each of us to see that the world around us is suffering. Everywhere we look there is violent reaction to governments, neighbours,religions,and cultures.
ReplyDeleteIn my years of teaching in elementary, inner city schools within a multicultural population, I always approached other cultures from the point of view of the richness each brought with it. I always taught from the point of view of what similarities we celebrated. If we are ever to have a global peace we must learn compassion. I firmly believe that we must walk a mile in another's shoes to have any understanding. I believe the Golden Rule should be taught in all our families and schools and it must be modelled by each and every one of us.