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Spiritual Resilience:
An Introduction

10. Compassion and Inspiration

4/23/2020

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On August 23, 1989, almost two million people held hands and scarves spanning 419 miles across Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. The event was part of a larger struggle challenging the Soviet Union's domination of the Baltic region. Demonstrators kept their spirits up by singing, drawing on the region's long history of massive choral music gatherings events celebrating Baltic culture and history. The effort eventually resulted in the independence of the three countries from Soviet control. To see a trailer for the inspiring documentary chronicling what came to be known as The Singing Revolution, click here.

INSPIRATION

Inspiration is a friendlier name for an emotion psychologists call moral elevation. It's our emotional response when we witness an act of moral beauty. Our hearts are touched, the world lights up, and we feel a spontaneous desire to be and do better. In the case of The Singing Revolution, we see an enormous crowd of vulnerable people standing up to a brutal regime, not only incredibly brave but also creating something beautiful in the moment. We are reminded, at least for a moment, that such a thing can happen and that we can imagine ourselves being a part.

Stories of heroism are inspiring, and they are all around us. Opportunities for inspiration also go beyond actual events. They account in part for the incredible success of the Harry Potter series. Music, art, dance and theater at their best all have the power to evoke an intense sense of the greater possibilities in ourselves and others.

A moment of inspiration can stop us in our tracks and set us down facing in an entirely new direction. Spiritual heroes often describe a watershed moment in their lives when they were overcome by an inspiration that triggered a long and sometimes painful process of moral transformation. Many of us can look back on people or moments that were turning points, that inspired us to aim higher, try harder, see more in ourselves and the world. The feeling of inspiration is particularly important in our cynical age, when so many we have looked up to turn out to have feet made of clay and sometimes knives in their back pockets.

COMPASSION

We've all grown used to youtube moments going viral. Some explode onto the scene because they're funny, others because they're controversial. Some of the best hit a nerve because they inspire us to compassion.
One such moment is an encounter between Pope Francis and a little boy who is frightened that his beloved deceased father, an atheist, will be unable to go to heaven.

The little boy's grief, and Pope Francis' sensitivity and compassion, touch our hearts and make as all want to be a little better. To see the moment, click here.
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Compassion lies at the core of every great spiritual tradition. It is a feeling of care and concern for others, especially for those who are suffering. Compassion is distinct from pity and empathy. Pity is often criticized as patronizing, springing essentially from a one-up position. Most of us resist being the object of others’ pity. Empathy involves feeling another’s pain as if it were our own, and brain imaging demonstrates the pain centers of empathetic individuals’ brains light up when they observe other’s suffering.

Compassion goes a step beyond empathy to include an impulse to take action to help. Compassion includes an element of discomfort that prompts us to do something to relieve other’s difficulty. It is at the heart of every great heroic story. When we witness compassion we are inspired to be braver and more generous ourselves.
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Compassion and inspiration are good for our souls. Like the other spiritual emotions we've looked at, they help us to thrive - and to take action to help others thrive as well. For a touching fable about the way even a pandemic can inspire us to greater hope and compassion, click here. The story reminds us to see the possibility within the peril.

Spiritual resilience invites us to see beyond the immediate to the possible, and to begin to live into that possibility.

Today.
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    All
    01 Gratitude
    02 Body Awareness
    03 Blessing
    04 Spiritual Emotions
    05 Power Of Music
    06 Brain 101
    07 Taking Stock
    08 Surrender
    09 Serenity And Awe
    10 Inspiration
    11 One-liners
    12 Loving Service
    13 Going Forward
    Spirit/body Connection
    Spiritual Emotions
    Spiritual Practices

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This website is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
I do not receive financial compensation of any kind from resources mentioned or recommended on this site.
Copyright © 2018-2020, Constance Fourré  All rights reserved. No material on this website can be duplicated or distributed without the permission of the author.
Contact info@spiritualresilience.org for more information.

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