Recently I’ve heard “woke” defined as being awake to injustice, particularly racial injustice. That takes the edge off it. It makes it sound like a good thing, except to the extent that it propagates untrue ideas like racism is everywhere, or anything you don’t like is racist. Having an awareness of injustice is universal though, isn’t it? Although people have very different ideas about what’s just or unjust, everyone has their own sense of it. It doesn’t require a new word. We have words like “compassionate” and “empathetic” that seem to mean the same thing. I don’t think even the person or persons who coined the word “woke” meant it to be as inoffensive as “being awake to injustice.” I think it was intended to be confrontational. Here’s another possible definition: Making sweeping, prejudicial generalizations about race, gender and sexual orientation. I like that definition better. I think it’s useful… Read more →
EppsNet Archive: Compassion
How to Keep Poor People Poor
If you want to see the poor remain poor, generation after generation, just keep the standards low in their schools and make excuses for their academic shortcomings and personal misbehavior. But please don’t congratulate yourself on your compassion. — Thomas Sowell Read more →
Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world…would do this, it would change the earth.— William Faulkner
A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your life. — Christopher Germer
Two True Stories About 2020
Looking back over 2020, it was a year of fear, suffering, and pain . . . but also a story of courage, compassion, heroism and accomplishment. Do our brains have an automatic negativity bias? It seems we much more easily remember and give attention to bad experiences. But both stories are true. Read more →
Goofus and Gallant on COVID-19
Goofus: I am stuck. I’ll never make it through this situation, and even if I do, I won’t be as successful as I was before. This is a downward spiral. Gallant: I am Growing. I am making progress – sometimes gradually and other times rapidly – with learning new skills and developing better habits. I am becoming stronger through these trying times, and so are many others in my work organization and community. Goofus: I am fragmented. I’m being pulled in too many directions to be truly helpful to anyone. Gallant: I am Integrating. I am drawing upon a broad reservoir of resources from my varied experiences, which can help me navigate new challenges. My authenticity and vulnerability can help me to build deeper connections and establish healthy boundaries with trusted colleagues during trying times. Goofus: I am incapable. I don’t have enough courage to meet this challenge,… Read more →
Non-Toxic Masculinity
Amanda Eller, rescued from the jungles of Maui I’m hearing a lot about “toxic masculinity” recently . . . in fact I rarely hear anyone talk about masculinity without the word “toxic” in front of it. But I’ve noticed that when people get themselves into life-threatening situations — lost in the jungle, trapped in a cave, etc. — the volunteers who show up to attempt a rescue are always men. I remember one guy died in the Thailand cave rescue. A volunteer — he didn’t even have to be there. So I’d like to recognize non-toxic masculinity — bravery, strength, compassion — that gets things done in the world that women can’t or won’t do. Read more →
Notes on Existential Well-Being
I’m taking an online class on existential well-being . . . posting some notes and thoughts: Well-being implies physical health, comfort, pleasure. It is also essential for human beings to have relationships with other people and to have a place in society. We speak of personal well-being when a person is able to develop their talents and feel at peace with him or herself. Beauty, compassion, truth, love — these are experiences of the “life force” or the “spirit.” In these spiritual experiences we transcend our limited self. We become part of something bigger and participate in universal qualities that nourish and enhance life. We are conscious of the physical, the social, the personal and the spiritual dimensions of human experience. We make no hierarchy between these dimensions. We recognize that human life is also characterized by suffering, pain and many limitations. We acknowledge that because of limitations, we are… Read more →
If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete. — Buddha