Chances for compassion abound

Local columnist

link Wendel Sloan

Thank you to my Louisiana sister-in-law, LaRue Love Sloan, for posting Maria Popova’s “Brain Pickings” blog reviewing Karen Armstrong’s “Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life.”

Armstrong, 70, writes, “Compassion … asks us to look into our own hearts, discover what gives us pain, and then refuse to inflict that pain on anybody else.”

Joining a convent at 17, Armstrong soon considered herself a “failure” as a nun, and has spent decades studying compassion — the common core of religions.

Popova says our chief task is to build a global community where all peoples live in mutual respect; yet religion is seen as part of the problem. All faiths insist compassion is the test of true spirituality, and all religions have their own version of the “Golden Rule.”

Armstrong says there has been flagrant abuse of religion. Terrorists have used faith to justify atrocities; popes and bishops have turned a blind eye to sexual abuse by priests; religious leaders decry other denominations.

Disputes secular in origin become “holy” and hardened and resistant to pragmatic solutions.

Quoting the “Charter for Compassion,” Armstrong writes, “Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures … treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.”

In my own experience, opportunities for compassion are omnipresent.

Whether being patient with a harried cashier, acknowledging emails, voice mails, Christmas or birthday greetings, or empathizing with those in emotional or physical pain, we should be cognizant of the universal yearning for respect and understanding.

Never take anyone for granted, because tomorrow we may need those who need us today.

The truly compassionate never mock, judge or condescend. They know much of our fate is determined by birth, and almost everyone — no matter their looks, station, obstacles or abilities — is doing their best.

We are all the center of the drama in our own equally important worlds, and view life through that unique lens.

Seeing through others’ eyes motivates us to be compassionate, making the world a better place — and perhaps even saving someone.

Contact Wendel Sloan at: [email protected]