More Compassion = More Joy
Here is the 7th of “The 8 Pillars of Joy” from the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu. Living with Compassion makes life far more enjoyable, and for those of us who are concerned with THE BIG GRIEF brought on by our collapsing environment, Joy is certainly welcomed!
Compassion Evokes Joy!
It truly is more fulfilling to give, than to receive. We know it experientially, and there is science to support this truth.
“Love cures people, both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.” Karl Menninger, M.D.
Love. So much boils down to love. It is the animating force behind all of evolution, and the natural impulse that reaches out with a helping hand when needed.
Compassion is love in action. Its energy is directed at the alleviation of suffering.
Consider your own experience for a few moments. You have offered compassionate care time and again in your own life.
Let me invite you to recollect a time when you extended some compassionate help to another who was suffering or struggling. It could have been as simple as helping someone on with their coat, or as big as traveling to a weather-beaten community to give aid to the destitute. Maybe you took in a rescue dog, or made room for a driver and her vehicle to enter the flow of traffic. Maybe you donated to a charitable cause, or brought food to an ill friend. Maybe you stepped forward and wrote letters to “Get out the Vote” or marched in support of a just cause. Maybe you visited an ill friend, sipping tea or coffee together, offering a moment of support. Maybe you have offered prayers for healing, or sent loving Reiki energy.
Yes. You have been a compassionate presence — to yourself, and to others.
And did you feel some joy for having extended love in action?
Compassion evokes a “Helper’s High”
Quit literally, there is a chemical reaction that happens in the brain when we act out of compassion to alleviate suffering. One or more of the following three light up our neurology and the experience we have is Joy:
- Serotonin helps balance mood and promote feelings of well-being.
- Endorphins are our body’s natural pain killers. They help us to overcome the stress of discomfort.
- Dopamine, also called “the feel good” hormone, plays a role in feeling pleasure and happiness.
In fact, there is a direct correlation between generosity and joy.
Compassion comes from within, and spreads out to include Mother Earth.
To become more compassionate, and thus more joyful, we begin with our own selves. We begin by calming our minds and emotions with a warm-hearted stillness. We self-soothe with a meditation practice. Our emotions become familiar and integrated. A foundation of Self-Compassion launches us into a wider embrace.
From there our Compassion spreads out to our Lovers and Soulmates, those that are nearest and dearest to us.
Then we attend lovingly to our people — to our family and friends at those times when they are suffering. We have Tribal Compassion.
Global Compassion is evoked when our compassion is, quite naturally, extended to all people regardless of culture, location, religion or other contrived walls that separate us.
And then, of course, there is Environmental Compassion. A growing number of us can feel the pain that our beloved Mother Earth is experiencing, and we are taking steps to help her.
As we all come together and give Mother Earth our “helping hands,” we will all experience the joy that is evoked through our acts of compassion.
If we want more joy in our lives, let us open our hearts and step forth with acts of compassion.
To learn more about each of the 8 Pillars of Joy, take a look at my commentaries on Medium.
In 2020, I wrote the book LOVING MOTHER EARTH: Integrating Environmentalism and Spirituality, which can be purchased on Amazon, and know that if you do, $5.00 from every purchase is donated to The Sierra Club.
Thank you for Loving Mother Earth. Follow me and I will follow you if, in truth, you are passionate about integrating environmentalism with spirituality. After all, we are in this together.
