Photo by Don Pierce
Compassion is the key to expanding your view of the world. Feeling the suffering of others (empathy) and acting to relieve that suffering (compassion and altruism) are essential steps on the path to enlightenment. The more responsibility you feel for others—whether individuals or the planet—the harder it becomes to bear their suffering. Likewise, recognizing how much you receive from others fosters deep gratitude and appreciation.
Let go of a self-centered worldview to reduce your own suffering and help preserve the happiness of others and the health of the environment. Use compassion to alleviate suffering and loving kindness to foster happiness. Focus your compassion on one individual at a time, carrying this contemplation into your daily life. An hour of meditation daily is a start, but cultivating true compassion takes time—don’t rush or overwork yourself.
True compassion is unconditional. Extend it even to those who evoke anger or hatred, as these feelings harm you more than others. Loving your enemies, as the saying goes, can be transformative.
Everyone seeks happiness and avoids suffering. Recognize how everyone contributes to your wellbeing, directly or indirectly.
HumaNatureConnect Activity
If today isn’t for unstructured nature time, try this guided practice:
Read the Text: Use your literary, mental, and reasoning senses to explore happiness and sustainability. Engage all your natural senses while spending meaningful, enjoyable time outdoors on your way to Gladandgreen Junction.
Find an Attractive Natural Being: With pen and journal in hand, visit a natural area and choose a natural being that draws your attention.
Appreciate and Give Thanks: As you admire your chosen being, breathe in appreciation and exhale gratitude.
Consent: If you find yourself continuously attracted to an aspect of nature for at least ten seconds, consider this your consent to form a connection that supports your optimal functioning.
Engage Your Natural Senses: Use at least one radiation sense, one feeling sense, one chemical sense, and one mental sense to deepen and diversify your perception.
Activity: Develop a broad sense of responsibility by considering how you can help protect the environment. Reflect on ideas from Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin’s True Green: 100 Everyday Ways You Can Contribute to a Healthier Planet (2007), and write your impressions in your journal.
Reflection and Sharing
After the activity, write in your journal about your experience. Consider:
How you did the activity and what happened
What you found attractive about your natural being
Three qualities you admired
Three things you learned
How this affected your self-esteem or trust in Nature
Any changes you noticed in yourself
Praise yourself for committing to this stop on the Heartwood Path
Write “I’m a person who...” statements inspired by this connection
How you’d feel if you lost this connection
Compare your natural being to yourself in qualities you admire
Mark your agreement with the Ten Green Wave Validation Statements
Summarize your response in two words
Share your impressions with others in your Heartwood Path community or social media using #heartwoodpath and #waypoint271.
Nocturnal Pilgrimage
Name your inner wounded healer and make an offering to it. Engage in a healing ritual over time. Find the silver lining in the affliction. With a broad sense of responsibility in mind, sleep and dream. Save your reflections in your dream journal.
When ready, move to the next waypoint.
