compassion and pain

gassho spreads john gray's words about compassion

When we experience the pain of another person, we instinctively want to take away that pain. But by taking away the other person’s pain, we also take away his or her opportunity to grow. To be truly compassionate, we must be able to share another person’s suffering and pain -- knowing there is nothing we can do to relieve it and that we are not responsible for it, and yet knowing and understanding what that pain feels like.

what comes up for me is not so much that i want to take away the pain (i do experience that at times, but more often), i find myself wanting to hug and comfort and support another as they experience the pain. how do you respond to feeling another's pain?

you can hear john gray in an interview with ken wilber at integral naked this week. (membership for the first month is free.)