How To Overcome Indifference

“Compassion is our capacity to relate in a tender and sympathetic way to what we perceive…Compassion means to be with, feel with, suffer with. Classical Buddhist texts describe compassion as the quivering of the heart, a visceral tenderness in the face of suffering. In the Buddhist tradition, one who has realized the fullness of compassion and lives from compassion is called a bodhisattva. The bodhisattva’s path and teaching is that when we allow our hearts to be touched by suffering—our own or another’s—our natural compassion flowers.” -Richard Rohr

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” -Elie Wiesel

“To love is to will the good of the other.” -Saint Thomas Aquinas

The reason why the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference, is because love is not a feeling or emotion (like hate is). Per Aquinas, love is a willful ACT. Thus by definition, the opposite of act or action is NON-action, which is, indifference.

So, how to overcome indifference? Here are some keys or steps…

Step One…NOTICE. Pay attention. Break through all the world’s distraction. See the signal amidst the noise.

Step Two…TAKE IN. Allow yourself to be moved with compassion. One of the beautiful things about art is that it helps engender empathy for the human condition.

Step Three…ASK. When you notice and are moved by something, ask yourself what if anything, you can do about it. Don’t just be interested. Think hard about what you can do to influence. Write down a bunch of ideas.

Step Four…You probably can guess this one…ACT. Based on your ideation, take one small step in the name of love. Voila! You are no longer indifferent.