Widening Circles of Compassion
Joanna Macy has devoted her life to exploring the generative power (“power with”) released when people act together with compassion in the face of our planet’s suffering. She affirms that while we can’t do everything, we can do something – and we can trust that our compassionate actions will make a difference, whether they are big or small.
Some of Macy’s guidelines that support us in widening circles of compassion include:
Welcome Diversity. Self-organization of the whole requires differentiation of the parts. Each one's role in this unfolding journey is unique.
Know That Only the Whole Can Repair Itself. You cannot fix the world, but you can take part in its self-healing. Healing wounded relationships within you and between you and others is integral to healing our world.
You Are a Small Part of a Much Larger Process, Like a Nerve-Cell in a Neural Net. So, learn to trust. Trust means taking part and taking risks, when you cannot control, or even see the outcome.
Speak the Truth of Your Experience of This World. If you have persistent responses to present conditions, assume they are shared by others.
Work Increasingly in Teams or Joint Projects Serving Common Aims. Build community through shared tasks and rituals.
Be Generous with Your Strengths and Skills – They Are Not Your Private Property. They grow from being shared.
Draw Forth the Strengths of Others by Your Acknowledgement of Them. Never prejudge what a person can contribute but be ready for surprises and fresh forms of synergy.
You Do Not Need to See the Results of Your Work. Your actions have unanticipated and far-reaching effects that are not likely to be visible to you in your lifetime.
Putting forth great effort, Let There Be Serenity in all your doing; for you are held within the web of life, within which flows an intelligence far exceeding your own.
We can practice small acts of compassion and trust that the Spirit will bring fruit in ways that we do not yet know.
Reflection Questions
Describe an experience of compassion that had a significant impact on you. What happened? What impact did it have?
How do you respond to the idea that compassionate actions have a ripple effect?
Resources
Rupp, Joyce (2017). Prayer Seeds: A Gathering of Blessings, Reflections, and Poems for Spiritual Growth. Notre Dame, IN: Sorin Books.
Rupp, Joyce (2018). Boundless Compassion. Notre Dame, IN: Sorin Books.
Fischer, Kathleen (2009). Loving Creation: Christian Spirituality, Earth-Centered and Just. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.
Macy, Joanna and Brown, Molly (2015). Coming Back to Life. Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers.