October 2025 - Cultivating Compassion

Cultivating Compassion

from Soul Matters

It’s tempting to think of this month’s theme as one of our lighter, more pleasant ones. After all, compassion sounds…well, nice. It conjures warm feelings and tender thoughts. Images come to mind of people telling each other they are holding them in their hearts. It would seem to be all about emotional connection and empathetic feeling.

But then along comes a quote like this:

“Compassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you also feel responsible for everything. And you cannot turn away. Your destiny is bound with the destinies of others.”    - Andrew Boyd

Or this:

“True compassion is to engage in the suffering of others.”

- The Charter for Compassion

Both remind us that compassion is not just niceness and thoughtful feelings. It’s about something deeper: an impulse that drives us to action….

Download the pdf for this month’s complete packet.