My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.
-Desmond Tutu, Archbishop of Anglican Church of Southern Africa and Human Rights Activist
The past several weeks have been extraordinarily hard and painful as we witness human tragedy play out within the context of already turbulent times brought about by the global health crisis. We at Circle of Hope, have held the belief about how this pandemic, is a time of “great turning.” Without wishing to dilute the suffering that this has brought to many, we see that this very suffering has the power to teach us profoundly how human life is deeply and intricately interconnected. We have been living under such heavy layers of alienation, isolation, and indifference both in the micro-moments of our daily existence and in the bigger realities of how we relate to each other as nations and groups of people. Painful as this pandemic has been, it reveals with unequivocal clarity our shared humanity–how each human being’s life and wellbeing relies on another. And thus, beholding this great truth, it only behooves us to reflect and re-orient our entire being towards whatever evolution is necessary to align us with this truth, to awaken our compassion, and to bring us home to each other.
Yet, the tragedy surrounding the murder of George Floyd, shows us that there is tremendous work to be done in healing the division and disconnection in the heart of humanity. There is a paradox here that mirrors our light and shadow. As our heroic frontliners all over the world are putting themselves on the line to ensure that others continue to live and breathe, the murderers of George Floyd used their power, position, and force to literally shut his respiration, cease his breathing, and end his life. We have watched many scenes on television of healthcare workers cheering and celebrating as COVID-19 patients get released from the hospital with a new lease on life. It is their joy to see their fellow human beings live. What a very stark contrast to watching this police officer’s bent knee clamping down on the neck of an unarmed civilian supported by the complicit inaction of his colleagues. Quite simply, compassion heals and the absence of it kills.
Compassion is the human heart awakened to its kinship with others. It is a heart that is wise enough to see that beneath all that appears to be different between us, we are actually one. When we heal, uplift, strengthen, and alleviate the pain of others, we are also nurturing our own life. Conversely, violence, abuse, and injustice hurt the perpetrator just as much as it does the victim. Indifference and apathy to the suffering of our neighbor alienates us from who we truly are. In this crucial moment, an unprecedented human crisis is showing us the way to evolve for the better—it is the way of compassion, of living awake to our shared journey, and being in the same boat of our common humanity. Human survival and thriving are hungering for an evolution into compassion.
And so, in this spirit, Circle of Hope stands in unison with the many voices not only in America but everywhere, BLACK LIVES MATTER. The same must be shouted out for many other forms of marginalization and exclusion, on the basis of socio-economic status, gender, gender identity and sexual orientation, education, religion, and political beliefs. Jack Kornfield, a beloved spiritual teacher and the founder of Spirit Rock Center, said “Compassion is not foolish. It doesn’t just go along with what others want so they don’t feel bad. There is a YES in compassion, and there is also a NO, said with the same courage of heart. No to abuse, no to racism, no to violence, both personal and worldwide. This is said not out of hate, but out of unwavering care.”
We cannot generate hope without compassion, and compassion is realized only when we fearlessly embrace the inherent dignity and value of all persons. May our work of cultivating wellbeing among vulnerable communities become a drop in the ocean of compassion, and may we always walk together on the path of opening our hearts to each other.