Compassion and Well-Being
Theme for the Week
Reflection By Scott Stoner
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
- Dalai Lama
This week we will focus on the relationship between compassion and well-being. The above quote from the Dalai Lama captures how compassion enhances the well-being of others and ourselves.
Martha Bourlakas reminded us in her writing yesterday of the importance of self-compassion, something we will focus on in other reflections this week. For now, I want to say that caring for our own well-being is essential for our ability to offer kindness and mercy to others.
I love the Prayer of St. Francis because it is a prayer that invites us to be instruments of peace, love, kindness, and compassion in a world that so very much needs all the spiritual nourishment we can give (full prayer on p. 79). As a guitarist, when I read the words make us an instrument, I think of how I cannot produce music for others to enjoy if I do not take the time to tune the strings before I play. This always reminds me that I need to regularly keep my well-being in tune so that I am able to offer compassion more easily, which can enhance the well-being of others.
We also know that caring for the suffering of others has a positive impact on our own well-being. In his reflection for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, Chris Yaw shared a study that confirms this truth. We are called to love our neighbor and ourselves, and keeping a healthy balance between the two is essential to both our well-being, and the well-being of others.
Making it Personal: What are your initial thoughts about the connection between compassion and well-being? How do you recognize if your well-being, your “instrument,” is out of tune? What helps you get back in tune and stay in tune?