My first TED talk I’m discussing is Joan Halifax’s talk on compassion and the true meaning of empathy. It is a pretty good talk, and I would definitely recommend a watch. Keep in mind though that this was presented at TEDWomen, and was clearly to move a mainly female audience.
This video caught my attention as I was browsing through the TED site because it really relates to one of the things I’ve been pondering lately – what is our responsibility to the world and the greater good of the people, and how can we ? Perhaps one of the possible answers is more compassion in the world.
So what is compassion? Joan Halifax identifies 4 comprising factors of compassion:
- The capacity to see into the nature of suffering
- Ability to stand strong and recognize that one’s self isn’t separate from the suffering of others
- Aspiration to transform said suffering
- Not to attach self to the outcome of the suffering
Of the four, I think that 2 and 3 strike me the hardest. My interpretation of her point is that compassion is beyond the sometimes demeaning pity, because it involves an element of the self. It doesn’t mean that you have to try to walk in those shoes of suffering. Compassion means that we can recognize the fact that we are intrinsically tied and that it is possible to relate two beings no matter physical distance. In being compassionate and recognizing this intrinsic tie, the motivation to alleviate and improve upon this suffering is what can help bring about greater good.
I really like the questions that Joan Halifax poses in her talk. Why don’t we teach compassion – to our children, to health care providers, to everyone so that we can help each other? Why don’t we make decisions based on compassion, and why don’t we elect our leaders based on compassion? After all, wouldn’t that make for a better world that knows to care for each other?
Choice Quotes
”The most wondrous thing in the world is that all around us people can be dying and we don’t realize it can happen to us.”
“Compassion means that we aspire, we actually aspire to transform suffering”