The Compassion of Meeting Need
Be nice. Do unto others. Treat people as you want to be treated. Navigating the day in connection with others is not an easy task. We get stuck in how we want to be treated instead of what the other person needs. Both of us wind up being frustrated.
In her book, A Constellation of Connections: Contemplative Relationships, Vanessa Hurst invites readers to reflect upon their relationships using two questions:
What do I need from a relationship?
What does my partner need from the relationship?
We want lots of things, but how much do we really need? Probably not nearly as much as what we want, but we get stuck in a cycle of want that eclipses our needs. Vanessa goes on to say, "I am fond of telling people that my home is a reflection of want vs. need. I have many things that I purchased at a time when I had more money than sense. We balance our wants and needs as partners in relationship. When we really reflect upon our wants, we discover they mask what we truly need. We begin to have 'more sense' as we meet all of our needs and some of our wants." Read more of Vanessa's writing.
Aberjhani, David Breaux, Vanessa Hurst, Steve Kaye and John Smelcer all have blogs on the Charter website. Whether you want inspiration or want to explore new ideas or even are open to contemplating "lessons from the birds" (Steve Kaye's blog), you'll find interesting and challenges concepts on our bloggers pages. Check them out and share them with others.
The Charter for Compassion in the News
Symphony of Peace Prayers Celebrates The Fuji Declaration Anniversary May 14th, 2017
Just after dawn on May 14th, Fuji Sanctuary opened its gate to welcome hundreds of people who were already waiting to attend Symphony of Peace Prayers 2017. Close to 10,000 people walked through those gates that morning from every prefecture in Japan and abroad to attend the outdoor event at the foot of Mt. Fuji to celebrate the oneness of humanity and its cultural diversity, while still more joined through the live internet broadcast. Sande Hart, coordinator of the Charter's Women and Girls sector was there to represent the Charter. Read More.
Compassion Fayetteville Connects, Supports and Befriends Local International Community
A first pair of glasses is a significant milestone for a young boy who was born in a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Thanks to a resettlement initiative carried out by Compassion Fayetteville and several community partners, this child now lives with his parents in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Supporting a family in becoming self-sufficient in the U.S. and integrating into a new culture is just one of the many undertakings of Compassion Fayetteville. Read more.
9 Ways You Can Help The Syrian Refugees NOW
The Syrian refugee crisis has reached massive proportions. Hundreds of thousands of refugees have been displaced from their homes and are trying to make a new life elsewhere. Others are stuck in refugee camps, desperately hoping for the chance to move to another country. As you watch the news and read the headlines, it’s easy to feel helpless. Like there’s nothing you can do to make a difference. You want to help, but have no idea what you should do. Thankfully, there are distinct, simple ways you can help that don’t require massive amounts of effort. By taking small actions, you can make a real difference. Read More.
Mark these Dates for Charter for Compassion Sponsored Webinars and Courses
Webinar: June 21 - Honoring the Women, 8 a.m. PT. Speaker: Michael Kasdan, Esq., Director, Special Projects for The Good Men Project. Project. Mike frequently speaks and writes on a variety of topics, including intellectual property, technology, business, social media, sports, mental health, parenting, education, and social justice. He has spoken on a variety of issues in major media networks, including CNN (Headline News), Al Jazeera America, National Public Radio (NPR), and The Canadian Broadcast Company (CBC), and his writings have appeared in well-known publications such as The Huffington Post and Salon. Register here.
Course: Starts June 21 -Compassion Course. Instructor: Thom Bond. The Course starts with foundational concepts and practices that help us understand what engenders compassion and what blocks it. As the year progresses, we work with more advanced practices and processes that help us bring more compassion into our everyday lives. Throughout the course we work on progressively deepening levels with self-empathy, empathy, emotional triggers, anger, beliefs, dialog, appreciation, requests and more. By the end of the year, the course covers over 50 concepts and differentiations. The 2017 Course will be delivered in English, German, Arabic and Spanish. Register here.
Webinar: June 28 - Awakening Compassion at Work (and Beyond), 8:00 a.m. PT. Speaker: Monica C. Worline, Ph.D., is founder and CEO of EnlivenWork, an innovation organization that teaches businesses and others how to tap into courageous thinking, compassionate leadership, and the curiosity to bring their best work to life. Monica holds a lectureship at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and is affiliate faculty at the Center for Positive Organizations as well as being a research scientist at Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. Monica is currently the Executive Director of CompassionLab, the world’s leading research collaboratory focused on compassion at work. With Jane Dutton, Monica authored the new book for compassion architects everywhere: Awakening Compassion at Work: The Quiet Power that Elevates Individuals and Organizations. Register here.
Course: Starts July 9 - Growing Words of Compassion: Nature and Writing Practices to Love By. Instructor: Dr. Jennifer J. Wilhoit. This hands-on, multidisciplinary course will help students engage with their innate capacity for tender compassion. The curriculum is designed to meet each student where he or she currently is in the understanding and practice of compassion; deepening one’s expression of compassion is the primary focus. The four areas we will cover include: writing for compassion; nature for compassion; gratitude’s role in compassion; and the creation of a symbolic toolbox of images, words, and objects as touchstones of compassion practice. Students will be asked to delve deeply into their individual process and ways of seeing themselves. They will also be guided to explore their relationship to difference, “the perceived other,” and how to offer compassion in difficult situations. Using a variety of creative, educational, and ecological tools, participants will deepen their relationship to their own heart of compassion. There is a strong emphasis on writing as well as exercises/activities to be completed out in nature. Students will also explore online resources, read articles, create symbols for compassionate action, and have a chance to reflect on their process and the resources provided. Assignments are designed to guide students toward an embodied practice of compassion that deepens in their lives long after the course has concluded. Learn more. Registration begins June 21.
Charter for Compassion at Work
We'd like to share with you a typical day in the life of the Charter. We begin by processing between 150 and 300 pieces of e-mail, which are distributed to our lead volunteers in each of our sectors. Mimi Hicklin, our administrative assistant, responds to new city and partner registrations and sets up a number of conference calls to have new city applicants meet with Marilyn Turkovich. Mimi, also maintains the events calendar accessible through our homepage, and posts blogs and articles on our website. Conference calls with east coast U.S., European, African, and Middle Eastern cities and partners start at around 6 am PT and calls to Hong Kong and Australia begin around 5 pm PT. On Thursdays we have our lead volunteer meeting to find out what is happening with our work. We usually sponsor at least four webinar and conference calls each week. We are getting approximately 10 new city campaigns beginning each month and between 20-30 new partners to support our city initiatives. There really is never a dull moment with the Charter. Want to volunteer with us? We need help in so many ways: translating (especially in French and German), folks to help with our new Marketplace, and we need leads in our business, arts, environment, healthcare and education sectors. We are still at only 1.5 employees and in order for the Charter to be fully functioning we need at the very least three people. Are you a member of the Charter? If not, we'd like you to become a member. Membership currently supports 1/3 of our annual budget. If you are a member, please renew your membership or consider making a donation to the Charter.
