We were all humans until 
        race disconnected us,
              religion separated us,
                  politics divided us, 
                       and wealth classified us.

We had to be carefully taught to fear, of course, anyone who was ‘different’, rather than to learn more about him or her. Had we done the latter, we’d have discovered that underneath the perceived difference not only were we exactly the same, but we were intrinsically connected by heart energy.

It would be difficult not to notice that currently the word of the week of the world is compassion. When Reuters reported the heartbreaking story of the 3-year old, his tiny, drowned body washed up on a Turkish beach, the photo circulated the globe and became the touchstone of the Syrian refugee tragedy. It reached under any differences and grabbed at our heartstrings, forcing us to notice.

The toddler has quite literally become the poster child for the crisis of the 4 million fleeing refugees, and especially the desperate tens of thousands attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing. He is the angel that gave his short life to create global awareness and to open our hearts. To make us feel. To elicit compassion.

For me, though, the dance with compassion began a couple of weeks ago, and that is why this recent clarion call to feel it so viscerally made such an impact on me.

One day I woke up and began to think about compassion – just like that. It was as if I needed to explore exactly how it felt and that I wanted to be more of it. Don’t ask where it came from because I cannot tell you. My guess is that it was my soul getting in touch.

Then, just as suddenly, I had a mantra in my mind, out of the blue. It was the Buddhist Om mani padme hum. I had heard of it before, but knew neither what it meant, nor how it sounded when sung. So I searched on line and found a YouTube. I sang along, over and over, ‘Om mani padme hum’. Then to my utter amazement I learned that it was the mantra of compassion. I have now added it to my practice to deepen my compassion.

I only relate this personal experience because I believe that humanity is also on the brink of deepening its collective compassion. And when that is accomplished, there will be no holding back our awakening to who we really are.

With compassion we let go of judgment and become more accepting of others. We appreciate how others feel and even try to help in difficult situations. We can act as a sympathetic listener. We renounce anger and aggression and work to maintain a harmonious and peaceful atmosphere in our homes, our work, or wherever we are.

Compassion is being researched today through brain scans and positive psychology. In positive psychology the aim is to reach a state of well-being. And it turns out that compassionate individuals have a greater sense of well-being because giving is equally as pleasurable as receiving.

A brain-imaging study led by neuroscientists at the National Institutes of Health showed that the “pleasure centers” in the brain—the parts that are active when we experience things like dessert, money, and sex—are equally active vicariously. We feel pleasure, for example, when we observe someone giving money to charity as if we were receiving the money ourselves. A complementary study at the University of British Columbia showed that even in children as young as two, giving treats to others increased the givers’ happiness more than receiving treats themselves. (www.chopra.com)

From the point of view of positive psychology ‘compassion is an evolved part of human nature rooted in our brain and biology’. It involves feeling what someone else is feeling, forming a bond. This connection helps us enjoy better health and speeds up recovery from disease, even increasing lifespan.

The connection we feel for someone when we are grateful is our shared humanity. It is the ground of compassion. And remember, a compassionate heart is accepting and forgiving not only to others but, just as importantly, to our selves.

When we are compassionate we are able to understand others from deep within. You and I are one. We are equal one with the other.

This month, as a new year and perhaps new circumstances begin for many of us, open your heart to express compassion and kindness to all beings at each and every opportunity, and let love be your guiding light.


To learn to love unconditionally is our reason for being on this Earth. This love, when it is shared without conditions or limits, is the most powerful force for transformation in our lives and in our societies.                                                                                          – Pierre Pradervand