Compassion Seen Through an Actor’s Eyes
Video – Tom Hiddleston, Adventures in Compassion in the Screen Trade
By Regina Chouza
“The ‘you’ you think you are is an actor, playing a role that your soul has chosen. The essence of you is “soul” – “light” with no beginning or end.” ~ Toni Carmine Salerno’s Gaia Oracle Cards
If we could take a step back and view our lives through the eyes of a compassionate observer, would we be more forgiving of our faults and those of others? While it can be tempting to react from a place of anger or judgment when something goes wrong – maybe when a teenager is caught cheating on her exams, or when we fail to quit smoking yet again – the ability to react from a place of love and compassion is vital to healing. Otherwise we risk falling into the trap of judging the situation too harshly and the potential for personal transformation dissolves.
What is Compassion?
A rather striking definition is offered by British film and theater actor, Tom Hiddleston, who as an actor, puts himself in other people’s shoes for a living. Referencing his background in classics and Latin in a YouTube video, Tom Hiddleston translates compassion as suffering with someone before going on to tell us that in his work, he suffers a characters’ joy, pain, and downfalls with them, even their arrogance (possibly in reference to Loki, the trickster god from The Avengers), in an attempt to understand their unique circumstances and portray the character objectively.
Compassion takes judgment out of the equation because, as Tom Hiddleston tells us, it is the understanding that “I could be like that if certain circumstances had been different. There is an Iago and a Romeo within all of us, there is that lover and that sociopath” and that to play a character truthfully, an actor has compassion for their predicament, whatever that might be.
Tom Hiddleston, Adventures in Compassion
After seeing the video, it is also worth noting that the same effort is required to feel compassion for a human being – yourself or another – though ironically we are often less forgiving of our personal failures. As a healer, it’s not uncommon to see clients hanging onto guilt long after everyone else has forgotten a particular event. Compassion and forgiveness can lead to healing for ourselves too.
How Does Compassion Lead to Healing?
According to the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, we have two options when mistakes are made. We can judge the person and let them deal with the consequences of their actions, or we can show a bit of mercy and help them out (if we were in their shoes, we would probably opt for the second choice). In this way, compassion is also about second chances. We try to understand their situation, what brought them there, and see if we can help them set it right.
Let’s take the example of a teenager cheating on her finals. Taking away her Internet privileges, no questions asked, is one route. Most parents would also talk to their daughter to understand what led to this in the first place. Was it pressure to succeed, to get into the right college, or maybe she neglected to study and jumped at the chance to get a better grade? This approach highlights the fact that we all miss the mark, but that we can choose a different path at the next opportunity. The teenager would face the consequences of her actions, but she would also revisit anything that may have played a part in her decision to cheat on the exam.
Nowadays, the world gives us plenty of opportunities to be compassionate, whether it’s the refugee crisis in Europe, how we behave with an ex, and even the compassion and kindness we extend to ourselves after a perceived failure. If the need for compassion is external, this can be as simple as putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes before making a decision that affects us both. When that compassion is for our own mistakes, it’s about cutting yourself some slack and approaching the pitfall one more time, without added guilt, shame, or recrimination. We make mistakes and we can correct them without overreacting emotionally.
Understanding the Movie of your Life
In The Little Soul and the Sun, Neale Donald Walsch explores the theory that, on a soul level, we forget who we are the moment of birth. This amnesia includes the roles we agreed to play in our lives—perhaps the underdog who rises against a backdrop of poverty to change the way things are done in the education system; or the feminist who challenges the status quo in Saudi Arabia. We also forget the souls cast as our friends, lovers and even the antagonists who drive the story forward. Without a bit of pressure, the protagonist has no need to evolve. This is not to say we cannot learn our lessons and remove a tough plot line from the rest of the movie.
We can also heal situations by sending light to all of the players involved, especially if we find it hard to communicate with them in person. On a soul level, we all have the potential to be decent human beings. It’s just that some have been through the wringer in this life and possibly in past lives, too. There may be a fine line between showing compassion and making allowances for unhealthy behavior, but it’s worth exploring that line if it will bring healing to our lives and to our communities.
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About the Author
Can anyone learn to channel healing and shift their life in a new direction? Absolutely! This startling discovery led Regina Chouza to become an Accredited Healer, blogger and teacher. Her first book, A Personal Guide to Self-Healing, Cancer & Love, is available on Amazon. Join her weekly newsletter for updates on healing and intuition:
Website: www.diaryofapsychichealer.com
