Rev. Ben Fowler
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What's wrong with compassion?

2/27/2012

2 Comments

 
I was listening to a radio show the other day about the possibility of bringing medical marijuana to New Hampshire. It was a typical proponent vs opponent show. But wait, before I go further, and in the interest of full disclosure, I am a proponent of medical marijuana. However, the point of this writing is not whether  medical marijuana should be adopted by New Hampshire. Rather I am concerned, horrified really, by the arguments against medical marijuana being made by the opponent; an assistant DA. 

Though I condense a bit, the opponent said that people who were pro-medical marijuana were making their decisions merely from a place of compassion for those who were ill, and were ignoring potential negative medical consequences, ignoring the risks of legalizing a "drug" of this sort and ignoring the laws (at the federal level) that categorize cannabis as a schedule one drug. But I have to wonder, in a decision of this sort, what's wrong with compassion? 

I get that we are a nation of laws, but not all decisions can be guided by specific rules or by religious dogma. Haven't we been trying that for the last 30 years? We've taken much of the judgement away from judges. We have tried to make religion the arbiter of the gray areas. In the process, we have filled our prisons to overflowing with people who have no reason to be there. We have made corporations into people. And now our politicians are trying to legislate the rights of women back into the 19th century. But since when should laws trump good judgment? Since when do religious rights (particularly Christian religious rights) trump individual rights? And since when do either religious dogma or the rule of law trump honest compassion?

Compassion has gotten a bad rap because it is seen as a wimpy and bleeding heart response to the ills of the world. And I will note that there is some justification for the thinking that some decisions have been made from the kind of compassion that enables dysfunctional behavior to perpetuate itself. But not all compassion arises from bleeding heart sympathy, in fact, most of it arises from love. Surely, not all love, not all compassion is based on mushy soft-hearted idealism. In fact, most compassionate decisions are based on good judgement about what is best in a specific instance; sometimes that is soft love, sometimes, tough love--both can be very compassionate responses.

What is most troubling from this minister's point of view, is that compassion is now even being removed from religion. Religion is becoming merely a set of rules that everyone must follow. Not that this hasn't been implied for a long long time, but remember, the messages of all the sages tout common sense compassion, not rules. Almost all of those we consider the Prophets urged people to follow the compassion in their hearts not merely the laws--when a law does not make sense, follow your heart to the best answer. A simple example: stoning was the LAW--let you who has not sinned cast the first stone. 

Now, I am not a fan of liberal, leftist, lily-livered, wimpy, soft-hearted compassion. But neither am I a fan of conservative, right-wing, redneck, hard-hearted, thoughtless and selfish ignorance. I am a fan of common sense compassion wherein decisions are made based on careful discernment, wherein compassion is born of best interests of the situation, not dictated merely by some preconceived notion or set of rules. And even where rules are useful, never can they relate to every single situation equally.

And besides, if we remove compassion in the interest of rules, what are we left with?

2 Comments

What am I missing?

2/20/2012

3 Comments

 
Sometimes I just can not for the life of me understand what this compulsion toward spirituality is all about (mine or other people's). I hate to sound cynical about this stuff, particularly as a minister, but what are we missing? Is there a scarcity of something, a drought, a deficiency, a shortage, an absence??? Have we lost something, or is there something to be found? Are we trying to skirt something, or include something , or eliminate something, or embrace or blockade something? I don't quite get it. 

Perhaps I should be clear that I speak only for myself.

It seems like I mix up my spiritual life with my emotional, intellectual and physical life (which of course, mixed up it is), hoping, perhaps, that by finally settling on a clear spiritual path, all the trials that come up from being a physical, rational and feeling being will go away. Well, wish me luck. I mean there is nothing, absolutely nothing that I can think of that will remove me from being human (other than, of course, death). And that means that I will suffer, occasionally, from the torments of my body, my reason, my emotion and, yes, even my spirit.  Even if I sit at the right hand of God, I'm undoubtedly going to get slapped by that hand every now and then, if only by mistake. So it seems a bit of a waste to be hoping that a deeper spiritual life will change that.

Perhaps my push towards deeper spirituality is a compulsion for forgiveness or redemption or some such thing. Everyone, after all, does things wrong and feels guilty about them. Ain't nobody out there who can claim a lily white life. But changing history is a pipe dream--forgiveness from the aggrieved might be a relief, but it doesn't unwrong the wrong. And does this actually make me more spiritual?

Perhaps my effort is merely a question of finding definition. Religions define for us the path and even the results of our spiritual efforts. I do not find those rules particularly helpful, and that leaves me kind of rudderless. UU and/or "new age" and/or non-sectarian principles don't help much either. Though they do create a container, they also rely on me to fill it--but with what? And on top of all this, everyone from the Pope to the pagans bandy  about the word "spirituality" sans any substantive definition. So what is it I am trying to fill and what am I trying to fill it with? 

Perhaps "spirituality" is knowing the container and the contents, but more likely it is something that only I can define for myself, and that will always be somewhat of a moving target. I do know it when I feel like I am in a spiritual place in my life, or when a moment of spiritual clarity emerges from the gloom. I guess the big challenge for those of us who are not enamored with dogma is to decide that it is all right to seek a spiritual path without it. And then to define and decide what spirituality means to us so that we can create the journey and head towards the destination. 

3 Comments

Ever noticed the picture?

2/6/2012

5 Comments

 
I pride myself on being a pretty observant guy. I don't see the way an artist sees, perhaps, but I guess, not being a visual artist, I can't really know that. What I mean by "being observant" is that I pay attention. Though my wife might dispute this, most of the time I listen carefully (and not just because of me degraded hearing), and I see things pretty quickly and acutely. 

Of course, we all probably think we're pretty observant, so much as I might toot my own horn about awareness, others might see it differently--both literally and figuratively. My wife, as artist by temperament and profession, probably has a more acute sense of design than I do, but when it comes to spotting a navigation buoy when we are out sailing, I can out-see her every time. And though I am a musician, she can out-hear me on more occasions than I wish to admit (hearing loss being what it is). The thing is, all awareness is pretty subjective and in the eye of the beholder, so to speak. 

I think the times when I become most observant are when I become aware that I am not being terribly observant. It is only then that I switch gears and actively pay attention. It grows from the act of becoming fully present, in the moment, and taking the time to be fully engaged with my experience. It is then that I am seeing, hearing, thinking and feeling most fully and most intently. And it is then that I am most fully engaged with my spirit.

So, how observant are you? Ever notice the picture that accompanies this blog? The one to the right with the bird(s)? 
5 Comments

    Picture

    Rev. Ben

    I am an Interfaith Minister. My ramblings are primarily  random thoughts, and commentary on life, love and the pursuit of happiness. See more on the ABOUT ME page (above).

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