[Ailist] Re: Compassion & Passion

[Rob Voyle]

Hi Roger

On 4 Mar 2008 at 8:04, Roger Davies wrote:

> In your post below I really like your take on three elements of
> compassion.
> Where did that come from? How does compassion compare with passion?

The idea of compassion being made of three qualities/energies of tenderness, 
fierceness, and mischievousness came from Stephen Gilligan a student of Milton 
Erickson.  I think they were originally of Buddhist origins, where the 
understanding is that compassion is the agent of transformation in the world. In 
Christian circles we would say that love is the agent of transformation, however 
the word love is used in so many different and often trivial ways that it loses its 
edge.  

What I like about it is it makes compassion more than just a tender caring of 
those in pain, and can incorporate things like "tough love" saying no to in justice 
etc. and also explains the "crazy wisdom" of the Buddha, Jesus and other agents 
of Transformation.

I have an article on the three faces of Compassion that can be accessed from:
http://www.clergyleadership.com/resources/resources.html

Passion means to suffer, compassion means to suffer with.
We also use the word passion as you suggest as energy, or powerfully motivated 
behavior.  I like your idea that passion needs compassion to understand the 
impact on others so that we are really engaged in transforming for the better the 
lives of others.  Or in the words of Richard Pryor it transforms our behavior from 
simply being about "just us" to "justice" for all.  

What we really need more of in our society is attention to the outcomes and not 
the intentions of our actions.  Indiscriminant passion, regardless of how positive 
the intention, can have hugely damaging impacts.  Outcomes must be useful, 
and to be sustainable they must be good for you, for me, and the community at 
large.  For any blessing that comes to me or you at the expense of someone else 
is not actually a blessing it is theft. 

Rob
  
Robert J. Voyle, Psy.D.
Director, Clergy Leadership Institute
For Coaching and Training in Appreciative Inquiry
Author: Core Elements of the Appreciative Way 
http://www.clergyleadership.com/
503-647-2378 or 503-647-2382