Musings on Life by Roselle Kovitz

If we can shift our thoughts and actions toward kindness, toward compassion, I believe that it can become a habit. Each small gesture—a smile, a kind word, a helping hand—can and often does make a difference. It certainly has for me.

I remember the time a friend started calling me every week when I was diagnosed with cancer or another who spontaneously invited me to stay with her family when I was going through a divorce. The kindness of those gestures, and so many others, remains with me years later.

Right now, there’s a great opportunity to join with others around the world who are bringing compassion to the center of their lives. The Charter for Compassion, an international movement initiated by author Karen Armstrong, is encouraging individuals, grassroots and national organizations, cities, and countries to make compassion part of the fabric of personal, professional, and civic life.

Karen Armstrong is the prolific author of numerous books on religious affairs—including A History of God, The Great Transformation, The Gospel According to Women, A Time to Keep Silence and two memoirs, Through the Narrow Gate and The Spiral Staircase. Her work has been translated into forty-five languages. In February 2008, she was awarded the TED Prize and began working on the Charter for Compassion, created online by the general public and crafted by leading thinkers in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. The charter was signed in November 2009 by a thousand religious and secular leaders.

According to the Charter, “One of the most urgent tasks of our generation is to build a global community where men and women of all races, nations and ideologies can live together in peace. In our globalised world, everybody has become our neighbor, and the Golden Rule has become an urgent necessity.”

In her latest book, Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life, Armstrong addresses our addiction to our egos and gives us tools to cultivate and practice compassion in our everyday lives. Reading groups are forming to work the 12 steps (yes, it’s modeled after the famous addiction programs to help us break our addiction to our egos). In fact, I’m coordinating the reading group effort for the Charter. You can find a guide to help you start your own group on the Charter site and/or join a virtual discussion group on the Charter Facebook page.

I’ve been working on changing my mind and taming my ego, both key to cultivating compassion. It’s not easy. It’s a moment-by-moment practice and, for me, it helps to be part of a larger community. I invite you to join this growing movement. Visit the Charter for Compassion, affirm it and make a commitment to a compassionate practice.

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