As the days get longer in the northern hemisphere (where this blog is being written), the signs of new life emerge all over. Farmers and gardeners turn their attention to planting new seeds as the first step to a rich harvest. Let’s align ourselves with the seasonal cycle of the planet and plant seeds of compassion for a harvest of personal and planetary healing and flourishing. These seeds are readily available, and when offered with patience and wisdom, will yield bountifully.
We already have the seeds of compassion within us.
We all have the capability for compassion and have had it from a very young age. Children younger than two years old show an instinctive capacity for compassion. Over the millennia, evidence shows that human communities with stronger mutual support networks had more – and healthier – babies. The process of natural selection rewarded compassion, and we are the beneficial heirs of that trait.
If that were the whole story, compassionate action would be quite straightforward. Complicating matters, however, is that alongside our innate capacity for selfless compassion is a similar evolutionary drive to compete and behave in more selfish ways. Nurturing the seeds of compassion within ourselves and in the world require us to be conscious in our choice of which innate capacity we will nurture – compassion or competition.
Patience is rewarded generously.
Have you ever watched a garden grow and mature? It can take days or weeks before the first shoots of a seedling emerge from the soil. The growth that follows comes in tiny, imperceptible measures. But then, at some point, a plant begins growing such that its daily change becomes astonishing. Plants make their own food with photosynthesis. The larger they become, the more food they make, and the faster they grow.
The same is true of compassion. It can begin with small, everyday practices – a simple, warm greeting, or taking a brief pause to be curious about something instead of leaping to a deterministic judgment. As with the growth of a new seedling, the results of these small acts may also initially be small – a returned smile or perhaps a pleasant surprise in response to an unexpected non-judgmental kindness.
And then, one day, the ripples of compassion burst forth into generous new growth of human connections. The unexpected kindness becomes frequent, and trust begins to grow. Our interactions become marked in ways that show an increase in psychological safety and mutual respect. Without even knowing it, the tiniest seed of compassion has grown into a flourishing ecosystem of support. It would be lovely to end the story here, but we live in a world beyond our control.
Do all that you can and then let go.
The challenging reality of human existence is that suffering has always been with us and will always be. Through our compassion, we will make an important difference in the world, and there will always be unmet needs remaining. We can’t do it all.
Two additional factors make matters even murkier. First, there is so much beyond our control. Just as plant seeds face vagaries like weather and hungry rabbits, external factors beyond our control will impact the seeds of compassion we plant. Second, we may never see or know much of the impact of our compassion. Through it all, however, we can’t let this uncertainty hold us back from acting. We must be courageous enough to trust that our compassion will contribute positively to the greater good.
In closing…
Our innate capacity for compassion calls to us. We can feel the pull. But the world sends us mixed messages, making it easy to resist. Be the brave leader who responds to the inner voice of compassion with focus, intention, and practice.