Short Post: Charter for Compassion November 12th

A sense of excitement swept over me as the country approached the Presidential Election last year. Maybe I had unrealistic hope that real and lasting change was not far away. I get the same sort of feeling from the Charter for Compassion movement. Culminating with the unveiling of the charter on November 12th followed by a week of worldwide special events commemorating the unveiling. Much of the celebration will be of a religious nature, involving people of good faith from different traditions seeking common solutions. I don't what to expect, but I see omens. First the election of Mr Obama, then him receiving the Nobel Prize seemingly only for giving people throughout the world hope that The United States wasn't completely out of control, in the hands of madmen. Now the unveiling comes along. I expect great things.

"May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another."--Romans 15:5

Compassion is not a passive state—it moves us, and movement begets action. It is the act of wanting to make right, to make better, to make good, to hold, to comfort, to teach, to guide, to encourage all manner of life. Like a ripple in the water, compassion spreads. It moves through us to others and from them to others still; a true compass of the heart. To have compassion is to have to act—it is the beating heart that keeps the world, and us in it, alive.


Na’ama Yehuda/Judaism/United States - Contributer to the Charter for Compassion


We lose our capacity for compassion when we use our religion as a means to judge others rather than as a means to judge ourselves.”


Debbie Basinger/Christianity/United States - Contributer to the Charter for Compassion

“With compassion we voluntarily dethrone our self from the centre of our world and place another there. Compassion is not pity, for pity demeans both the giver and the receiver; it is the ability to feel with the other and enter with generosity into his or her perspective. Compassion also implies, and would be empty without, an unqualified acceptance of the other person.”

Romane Takkenberg/Baha’i/Australia
 

You all should take this inter-faith multicultural event to heart, to learn from and live.. Why go backwards to hatred and intolerance, when compassion can indeed save the world and make it a better place for all species, not just human. Reach out a hand in this coming month to show you care. Encourage others to do the same regardless of religious beliefs. This movement is beyond artificial boundaries. It instead emphasizes your belief in justice. It will demonstrates your moral stance if you will allow it.- Small Talk With God.