Compassion: The Secret to Strength
by Paul Lipton
Where does strength come from? When things are looking bad and nothing seems to be going right, where does the core belief that you can weather it all come from? It is a universal quest:
What is the secret to strength?
What is that mystical ingredient that separates the victim from the victor?
The Secret to Strength is Compassion
It took a journey with the shaman teachers at the Esalen Institute, in Big Sur, California, to help me unlock that hidden treasure. Strength in the face of a personal, professional, or business storm is the holy grail of personal satisfaction and offers a life of hope versus one of fear.
Reflecting to that time, the room grew quiet as we prepared for the last of the shaman experiences after a week of journeys. The drums were making a heart-throbbing sound. The smudge was burning and the scent in the air was comforting. I felt myself diving deep into the inner part of my soul. I relaxed as I went further into the very essence of my being. Somewhere along the path, I realized that I was in unexplored territory.
Have you been there yourself? Have you ventured into the unexplored parts of you? Have you had the opportunity to unlock the mystery of your very being?
After what seemed like an hour, but was probably only minutes, I was there: the center of me. Words, emotions, thoughts, dreams and beliefs were all swirling around me. Then, I heard a voice. I believe it was one of the shaman teachers. The voice simply said, “Ask a question that you don’t know the answer to that you always wanted to have answered and then wait for the response.”
The question that always fascinated me was, where does strength come from? Strength involves the ability to meet the unknown challenge and connect to that part of you that is unafraid. It is becoming the fearless one in a world that seems set on keeping us all afraid and fearful.
I asked the question: “Where does strength come from?” There was silence at first. I heard the drums. I smelled the smudge. I felt a warmth take me over. And then, I heard, felt and sensed a voice. It wasn’t so much a voice as an understanding. A smile came to my lips as well as an almost joyfulness in just being.
The word compassion entered by consciousness. Compassion. What did compassion have to do with strength? I just let it sit with me. Compassion and strength. Did they actually go together? Do they even live in the same universe?
The emotions kept spinning and then the drumming stopped. The smudge was extinguished. Slowly, I came back from wherever I was. We were asked to keep a notebook and pen by our side so we could write in it as soon as we returned. I picked up the notebook and wrote the words, compassion/strength. I then wrote down the word super power.
Pain and fear are traveling companions. I realized that compassion and strength are not only traveling companions, but the antidote to pain and fear. We each have a super power. We each have that unique trait that permits us to overcome the fear of the unknown enemy or nemesis, in any form it may come in.
I realized that one super power is to have compassion for the unknown. Have compassion for the enemy. Have compassion for the challenge. It is only then that the challenge is seen for what it is–a troubled, awkward, lonely, blemished thought way in the back of your mind that grew in the darkness of your fears of rejection, failure or regrets.
Once you see it for what it is and establish your ability to have compassion for all things, whether your perceive them to be ugly or distorted, you unleash a strength in yourself that was untapped before. Fear vanishes. Strife is gone. Anxiety disappears. Why, you ask? Simply because only a victor can have the confidence to live in a state of grace. It is in a state of grace where compassion and strength together reside. They are companions. They support each other. Compassion is powerful. It overtakes any fear based belief.
So, here are a few suggestions when faced with the obstacle that seems unclimbable:
1. Take a deep breath.
2. Look up and out.
3. Smile, knowing that you are a creation of an all-powerful Being. You are a gift to the universe and the universe is a gift to you. You are not alone. You are not forgotten. You gather your strength from the knowing that you are someone not afraid to show kindness and decency in the most difficult of moments.
Your super power is compassion. Your strength comes from being the calm center in any storm because you believe in the universal truth that we are one and that you pull your strength from the very challenge itself. By being compassionate, I found the secret of strength.
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About the Author
Paul Lipton is an attorney and author. His book, Hour of the Wolf/An Experiment in Ageless Living, asks the reader to live outside of limitations and live life fully and consciously. Age is simply an arbitrary number that does not define you. Paul looks for the sweet spot where life and adventure meet.
http://theagelessexperiment.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TheAgelessExperiment
