Love and Compassion

We are living in tumultuous times; times when we are inevitably and brutally aware of the troubles that are occuring around the world.  In this sense, it is up to us to continue our growth as human beings, to perservere in the development of our hearts based in a true kind of compassion.  All of us, in the so-called developed nations, are very aware that everything we do impacts everyone else around the world; that we are not separate from each other but deeply interconnected. 

Watching Haiti undergo the horrors and devastations following the earthquake is just another powerful reminder that the level of their suffering not only affects us, but has remained in a state of underdevelopment as a result of more powerful nations gaining economic ground.  In other words, we are not a seperate, all mighty powerful place, but a wealthy nation at the very dire expense of other nations across the globe. 

When a natural disaster on this scale occurs: Katrina, the Tsunami, Haiti we are again deeply reminded of what is important: our loved ones, our health, our food and water...all the other layers of things and more things become increasingly more irrelevant.  How many reminders will it take until we get it?  Will we ever get it?  Can we indeed choose love and compassion over greed, hatred, a power-over dynamic?  In the recent wake of Haiti and the strange and irreverent comments by various people in the media, we begin to wonder, how we have managed to survive this long in a state of war and terror, endlessly increasing our own suffering at the expense of mass consumption.

Yet, we all hold both the seeds of terror and the seeds of love within.  As a wise person once said, 'We simply need to choose which ones to water.'  Yet this takes effort and discipline: to continuously water the seeds of love and compassion.  To work towards acting from a place that benefits others, rather than elevates our own self, wealth and status.  We can start by simply minding our breath in moments of anger; by practicing healing work on others, to shift us dramatically out of our small self minds and into the Larger Self of compassion.  We can work to bring up our creative life force into our hearts, spreading that power (power within, not power over) in a way that promotes very real transformation, healing and Love.

Life is, no doubt, fleeting, relentless, tiresome and often hard.  It becomes even more so when we see people suffering so greatly in times of disaster, war, financial crises and social upheaval.  If we cannot find that quiet inner center within during these times, we may fall back into the old patterns of defending ourselves to the detriment of the well being of ourselves as humans, our planet, our amazing world.  Let us remember, each and every day, that we are indeed empowered, that we do hold the capacity for a very real kind of Love and compassion.