Defining Compassion

Observation begets understanding; understanding begets compassion. So, to find an empathy devoid of pity and relativistic justification, we must become careful observers of the world around us. No thing is too small to feel, to know, or to notice...

...or something to that effect is how I began eighteen months of fastidiously recording every detail of my life. I put the above principle to the test, and I saw results. But along the way, I became fatigued and vulnerable to a loss of understanding. The biggest threat to knowing is to 'know' you know all. This spiritual slump culminated in Tuesday's class, when I flippantly accused a speaker of lacking compassion toward Ukrainians. I maintain that I was right (of course). But my professor's critical analysis of my claim shattered my visage of understanding to reveal that one thing I never really understood at all was 'compassion' itself.

First: Compassion is relevant. As social scientist and professor Caroline Conzelman explains, a true empathy is vital to understand and to predict the consequences of policy and diplomacy. Compassion is what informs German Chancellor Angela Merkel's reaction to Putin's 'madness.' But beyond this, compassion is what elicits our feeling, is an innate and important phenomenon that extends well beyond emotion. As psychologist Daniel Goleman explains, mirror neurons (potentially linked to the phenomenon of altruism and empathy) motivate us to act, making compassion a driving influence in how we behave.

Secondly: Compassion is not pity. The distinction is subtle, but important. As Mother Teresa makes more confusing, "I always tell people that I don't want their leftovers. Our poor don't need your pity...they need your love and compassion."

Thirdly: Compassion is born by sacrifice. It is not enjoyed by giving away the clothes that don't fit you, but by giving away the ones you like most. Compassion is born by sacrifice. This is a point mentioned in Joan Halifax's remarks, specifically that compassion is to pick the maggots from the dog's leg with your tongue, so to not harm the maggots, which have a right to live as much as any other creature. If we bear inconvenience to serve others--even and, perhaps especially, the most marginalized or 'unimportant'--we act from compassion, not pity, not even out of a sense of moralistic duty. And action characterizes compassion.

This should serve as a reference for future blog posts. As I mention the word 'compassion,' I intend this meaning. I encourage review and refutation of my claims in the comments below.