"Words to Thrive By" by Mary Anne Dorward

This photo is one I took in Key West, Florida. What is your first thought when you look at this man on a motorcycle, with a big paunch and the parrot on his head,  the American Flag fluttering behind him? Laughter? Judgement? Compassion? Pity? Admiration? Disgust? Joy?

I read Rigpa Glimpse of The Day (glimpse@rigpa.org) every day and it always gives me food for thought. I thought today’s glimpse of the day was particularly poignant and ever so relevant to The Holidays:

        “Compassion is a far greater and nobler thing than pity. Pity has its roots in        fear and carries a sense of arrogance and condescension, sometimes even a smug feeling of “I’m glad it’s not me.”

As Stephen Levine says: “When your fear touches someone’s pain it becomes pity; when your love touches someone’s pain, it becomes compassion.”

To train in compassion is to know that all beings are the same and suffer in similar ways, to honor all those who suffer, and to know that you are neither separate from nor superior to anyone.”

As Rigpa always says at the end of every post: “Remember The View.”

How have you observed Compassion and Pity showing up for you this Holiday Season?