"Hmmmmm ... A Thought For Today!"

 

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.  

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass ... it's about learning to dance in the rain."

 

- from a Letter to the Editor, Winnipeg Free Press, quoted without bibliographic details at a Compassion Reading Group.

 

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Reflections

GOLDMINES DON'T COME WITH SIDEWALKS

As part of our spiritual resolutions, some of us have been reading Karen Armstrong's book, 12 Steps To a More Compassionate Life. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

It is still a good idea, but we are just beginning to realize how challenging the book is.  It is challenging because of the way it's written; it's one of those global, everything-is- attached-to-everything-else kind of books, so it doesn't  flow in straight easy lines.  It is challenging because of the content; learning what Hindus and Confucians have said about ahimsa, and li, and shu, and ren is an unfamiliar map that we (mistakenly) may not think we need.  It is difficult because of its expectations; Karen Armstrong, and the TedTalk Prize Foundation that sponsored the book, not only want us to learn something; they also wants us to become something. 

This is a book that is like a gold claim.  You might have to sit on it for awhile.  Hang on to it.  Wander around in it, and then start over and retrace your steps, looking again, more closely.  There are no sidewalks that will take you right up to an overnight discovery of the mother lode.  For the insights of this wee book to change your world, don't expect that you can simply dip your pan and come up with nuggets that will make you "rich" without any effort or insight.  This is a short little book that expects you to do a bit of digging to become fabulously wealthy at heart!

Armstrong suggests that we read through the book and then start over again and sit on each chapter until the glimmer of meaning moves from your head to your heart and hands.  It is not until the 6th step that the seeker is moved to "Action."  That's how much preparation the grizzled old sages advise "tenderfoots" need, before attempting the Chilkoot, and passing into the fabled "El Dorado" of spiritual gold. 

That's why we are offering several reading groups for this book.  Compassion is the ethical heart of every major spiritual tradition in the world.  It is the coin of a new realm of human being. It's worth your effort. 

"There's gold in them thar hills."  

 Care to look?

 


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