I started the "compassion" discussion with a comment on compassion being
the greater, and more difficult part of wisdom (logic being the other).
Your description of compassion is excellent.
>... perhaps compassion comes more readily when we see anothers
>experience and issues _as our own_ in a certain way. In other words, to
>step outside of our "self-centered" perspective to acknowledge the
>essential _unity_ of anothers reality and experience with our own. That
>coupled with the awareness that this "reality" is but one of many or one
>level of an even larger context of " reality" allows us to identify with
>the _experience_ of the other while retaining an essential equanimity and
>balance that keeps us from interfering in that experience inappropriately.
This captures everything I meant and certainly (for me, anyway) explains
why compassion is so hard, especially for a
recovering-but-always-handicapped narcissist. And it takes true maturity
and wisdom to take this big-picture view. Thanks for helping me out.
David E. Birren | To know, and not to act,
Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources | is to not know.
Bureau of Management & Budget |
Phone: (608)267-2442 | --Wang Yang Ming
Fax: (608)267-3579 | 9th-cent. Chinese general
Internet: birred@dnr.state.wi.us | Chinese general