Compassionate Love Binds People Together!

In today’s world we hear the term “compassion” and “compassionate love” used quite loosely. There are those from both sides of the political spectrum that claim this quality as blanket characteristic that imbues their philosophy. This belief in superiority is than used to justify scurrilous attacks on others, who apparently lack this quality. Certainly this negative behavior suggests that the attacker lacks any such quality as compassion.

Some people also think there is a thin line between love and hate. Perhaps that could be true if you only consider love to be one of the romantic hormonal boy/girl attractions. But let me ask you a question. Have you ever been the recipient of compassionate love; did you feel that real hate was even a part of the same universe as that of the giver? I don’t really think that true goodness and vile hatred can be comfortable together.

To enter the world of hate and retribution you have to pretty totally abandon the world of compassion and humanity. And of course the reverse is true. To enter the world of the compassionate you must totally abandon darkness. Not many will completely grasp this idea, because not that many people are willing to be truly compassionate. I don’t think compassion is something you pine for like you might for a companion to share your life; no I believe compassion is something that you are made of.

To be compassionate, you of course must be willing to free yourself of personal concerns for a time. In a materialistic world filled with empty gestures it’s not that easy to adopt a true level of concern for the lives of others. To be compassionate you have to set aside your world and be open to understanding the world of each person that you meet so that their world unfolds with all of its mystery, horror, pain and beauty. You can bond with people in a very intimate way but still maintain a separate understanding of your world too. There is little room in such a world for dark wrath or venial anger. That is not say that such negative feelings are not there, it’s just that they aren’t fed because your real focus is on feeding peoples real needs not inflaming their emotions.

Compassionate love demands action. It isn’t romantic, nor is it idealistic. It is practical. The target of compassionate effort isn’t just for the poverty stricken; it is directed to those in emotional need. Compassionate love requires effort and movement. It requires that you work to understand the real problems that another might have. Usually in long lasting marriages, this is the love that couples grow to share with one another. In fact it’s why certain people often seem so tied together; it’s truly an interwoven kind of feeling and it grows stronger, not weaker as those involved grow older. In rare cases whole communities can share this feeling.

Empty gestures are futile; it is only true commitment, self sacrifice and integration with others that may result in the flowering of true creativity, charity and peace. The results of this effort often leads in unexpected directions and this in turn fuels our delight in being with others in harmony and genuine community.