In an age where most people around me are terrified of getting sick to the point that they stare me down in judgement when I am not greatly concerned, I can only shake my head at the irony. For the wider public is appealed to: that we must conform to standards for the greater good. I find this ironic because it essentially strips us of the will to choose compassion. Yes: compassion for the greater good, but also compassion for ourselves and our loved ones if the mandates issued are not best for us in our individual situations.
Love and compassion are things we choose. There is no law against them. And likewise, they cannot be mandated by any law.
The word art shared today highlights a quotation from a man who knew great challenges and even physical limitations. Yet, he did not allow what he lacked to suffocate what he hoped for. And his life experiences as well as his ongoing quest for knowledge produced in him a blend of compassion and deeply provoking thoughts.
Was he perfect? No. He seems to have had his vices. But I believe the power of his quoted words here stems from the idea that when we choose compassion — when we choose to think deeply of where we and others are coming from and when we choose to consider any negative ramifications of our actions and choices — that will often help us to keep negative impulses in check.
(In that light, I am particularly honored that my novel, The Voice of Melody, earned one of the 2020 Eric Hoffer Awards for Historical Fiction. Especially when a few of the novel’s characters repeatedly chose compassion, choices which later proved to counter toxic situations and people.)
