Feb
14
What is Compassion?
Just this morning I witnessed an event that, to me, highlighted my erroneous belief in what I considered to be compassionate 'feelings' and wish to share that, if I may.
What the world saw
There had been some heavy rain just after dawn this morning, leaving the roads wet and somewhat slippery. As I was travelling through the city I saw a cyclist make a quick decision to change lanes, from a Bus Only Lane to a normal lane with cars on it. Unfortunately, as he was changing lanes and was crossing over the paint on the roads, he slipped and fell: hard.
Immediately, there was a ripple of 'agitation' as both buses and cars in both lanes began their own emergency braking procedures: even before the cyclist had finished coming to a stop. I noticed that nearly immediately, the cyclist was back on his feet. He seemed very aware that he had caused two lanes of peak hour traffic to come to a stand still and quickly gathered himself and his bike and moved briskly off the road, onto the footpath.
A half minute later, I was passing the location of the accident and saw him sitting on the ground, in obvious pain: holding his knee. Another cyclist was giving aid. Although feeling Compassion for this man in pain, I knew I could acheive nothing by stopping: I had no training in first aid, nor could I even offer to carry him nor his bicycle anywhere since I was riding a motorbike myself.
It was just then that I 'replayed' in my mind what I had just witnessed and found some interesting (and somewhat disturbing) pyschological traits.
What occurred internally
Even before the accident happened, my attention was drawn to the cyclist: for no particular reason. Obviously this was my intuition guiding me. Apart from being particularly focused on the event as it happened, I was unaware that my intuition had acted however, until much later.
As I saw the cyclist begin to fall, as well as during his fall, I had this feeling of what I would have called Compassion. Until now.
What was actually happening as I watched the man fall was that my body tensed as if I were actually in the accident myself. I was taking this man's accident, as it was happening, and replaying it internally as if I were the victim! I was creating a personal little drama all of my own, for no reason!
My pulse raced. Adrenaline coursed through my body.
My 'compassion' was based upon the fact that I was actually playing the drama of "I'm so glad that this isn't happening to me!"
Obviously and undoubtedly, this is not Compassion at all.
It was only when I passed the man that I had some true feelings unfold. It was only when I saw him holding his knee in obvious pain that I had a glimmer of real Compassion. No one should be in pain like that. Unfortunately, my psyche was still revelling in the "Poor Me" drama that my psyche had played out and was unable to manifest the superior emotion properly.
Compassion is borne of Love.
If only I had been more aware as I passed the man: It was only as I had finally parked at my destination that I also had the realisation that I had completely and utterly neglected to ask for this man to be helped...
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