As we continue to learn about the ongoing tsunami crisis in South Asia, and see pictures of the suffering of survivors, of the challenges now of staying alive, we have a daily opportunity to expand our experience of compassion.  We have an opportunity to contribute money and, for some, our direct physical help.  We have an opportunity to remind ourselves of the power the natural world has to shape our experience.  We have the opportunity to remember that the people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Africa could be ourselves – that none of us are immune to the effects of natural disasters.

We also have an opportunity to expand our compassion by remembering all the people suffering and dying of other causes throughout the world and in our own countries.  We can remember those who have AIDS and other wasting diseases, or those who face famine or war, or who have been affected by natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes, or severe earthquakes.  There are countless people and beings suffering in the world right now, and the tsunami disaster offers us an opportunity to remember all of them.

One of the challenges of deepening our compassion is how to keep our hearts open without shutting down or pushing away our awareness of suffering and our awareness of our own fragility and vulnerability.  How do we keep our hearts open so we can continue to give what we are able to give even after the news coverage is over and the event becomes history?  How can we remember that people around the world, and in our own countries, currently suffer as well from a lack of food, medicine, and other necessities?  How do we develop a generosity of spirit that allows us to stay aware of the suffering of others even as we find joy and delight in our daily lives?  

Can the current tragedy be an opening to developing a habit of compassion, a habit of experiencing the connection we all have as human beings living on the same planet?  Can the current tragedy remind us of the potential for any and all of us to suffer and for any and all of us to need help from one another somewhere along the way in our lives? 

For this week’s experiment, I invite you to notice what you are learning from this terrible event, to notice how it is deepening you or expanding your experience of connection with people in other places in the world.  And, most importantly, as coverage of the disaster slows down, notice how you can use your experience of these initial weeks of impact to keep your heart open to the continuing need of these people and people around the world for compassionate help.  Also notice if your heart awareness expands to include the people around you, the people in your own community who may not be able to meet their own basic physical needs. 

And, can you keep your heart open to the suffering in the world, and the need for help from those of us who have more, even as you keep your heart open to yourself and your needs?  Compassion goes in all directions, and compassion for the self is an important beginning and ending place.  As you open your heart to those in need, and to those who are suffering deeply, do you also keep your heart open to yourself? 

Also, if you are someone who has limited means, who hasn’t got a lot to give in terms of money, things, or your physical strength and time, can you use this tragedy to deepen your capacity to offer your compassion through prayer, or through lovingkingness, which is wishing others freedom from suffering, or through spending a few moment to send good thoughts their way?