Our Mission
A quest for the compassionate heart
So what is this site all about?
40DaysOfCompassion.com is the online hub for a spirited, honest dialogue centered on the theme of compassion.
What about the 40 days aspect?
For a minimum of 40 days, our contributors have committed to meditate upon a life of compassion. This site is our “personal journey” journals to reflect daily upon these questions:
- How did I grow today in my cultivation of compassion?
- When did my ability to compassion feel most tested today?
- Who inspired me today with their level of compassion?
- What did I witness (hear, see, read) that enhanced my understanding of compassion today?
- Why does compassion matter to me right now?
Sounds nice, but why make your “personal journeys” public?
Well, we wanted to write about celebrity mishaps and other negative news, but mainstream media already had this market cornered.
On a more transparent note, this site was born from a conversation about Lent (the Christian tradition of self-denial and prayer for 40 days leading to Easter), and how a commitment to Christ’s most essential virtue — compassion — may prove more meaningful than a denial of coffee and alcohol and masturbation and any other vice. After deciding to embark upon this 40 day personal journey, we felt a need to create a communication forum that supports individuals’ growth towards compassion.
Why Compassion?
It is our belief that to engage in compassionate thinking and living is to realize our highest human potential. Compassion is, as many a philosopher, poet, and spiritual teacher has previously noted, the quality by which our journey towards self-actualization can be measured.
And yet, consider how much time and energy we put into truly advancing our ability to love another. Is it our first priority to cultivate the necessary consciousness to be compassionate towards all life, no matter of creed nor color, brother nor enemy? Lastly, does our life — internally and externally — reflect this priority?
We’ve asked ourselves these questions and can honestly answer: Not really. It seems that we’ve learned to do a great many things on this planet, but we’ve yet to even approach the mastery of compassion. The planet and its people would not be struggling the way it is right now if we did.
