word of the day
kind
Main Entry: (2) kind
Function: adjective
1) chiefly dialect : AFFECTIONATE, LOVING
2) a : of a sympathetic or helpful nature b : of a forbearing nature : GENTLE c : arising from or characterized by sympathy or forbearance (a kind act)
3) : of a kind to give pleasure or relief
With thanks to Merriam Webster Online
A year or so ago, I had a conversation with my friend Dutch. I was talking about compassion and Dutch, who pays attention to words, said "I don't like that word compassion." I was pretty attached to what I was saying, I'm sure I'd just read some new-agey self-help book and I think I thought I was really on to something and here was Dutch, once more, shooting me down just as I was taking flight. She said, "It's full of judgment. 'Compassion' is something you beat yourself up for not having enough of." So, this much time later, here I am agreeing. Compassion is a nice concept but it's true: it's a kind of sanctimonious word. Its usage has outgrown its bounds. But "kind" is nice. Kindness. Maybe we are too numbed by the "Random Acts of Kindness" bumper stickers to remember that kindness is not just a slogan, but is a genuine, meaningful action that would like to happen more and more in daily interactions.
Main Entry: (2) kind
Function: adjective
1) chiefly dialect : AFFECTIONATE, LOVING
2) a : of a sympathetic or helpful nature b : of a forbearing nature : GENTLE c : arising from or characterized by sympathy or forbearance (a kind act)
3) : of a kind to give pleasure or relief
With thanks to Merriam Webster Online
A year or so ago, I had a conversation with my friend Dutch. I was talking about compassion and Dutch, who pays attention to words, said "I don't like that word compassion." I was pretty attached to what I was saying, I'm sure I'd just read some new-agey self-help book and I think I thought I was really on to something and here was Dutch, once more, shooting me down just as I was taking flight. She said, "It's full of judgment. 'Compassion' is something you beat yourself up for not having enough of." So, this much time later, here I am agreeing. Compassion is a nice concept but it's true: it's a kind of sanctimonious word. Its usage has outgrown its bounds. But "kind" is nice. Kindness. Maybe we are too numbed by the "Random Acts of Kindness" bumper stickers to remember that kindness is not just a slogan, but is a genuine, meaningful action that would like to happen more and more in daily interactions.
posted by reasonably prudent poet at 10:14 AM
1 Comments:
I like what Pema Chodron has to say about compassion in her book Start Where You Are. She talks about it not being one person looking down on another and "helping" but rather a shared understanding of how something is/feels. I'm butchering it, but I don't have the book in front of me! Sorry!
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