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June, 2008
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Vol 3, Issue 1 |
Explorations of
Kindness
The Art of Surviving
Compassion Fatigue
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My interest in
compassion fatigue arose out of teaching about the inner and outer
dynamics of violence for a decade at the University of Virginia and
hearing how overwhelmed and bewildered my students were in the face of
the world's problems and how much they cared. I learned from them that
even if we are not working on the front lines or taking care of sick or
dying family members, due to the saturation of violence in our world
today, particuilarly in the media, we are all subject to the dialectic
of Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS). To that end, in order to learn
more about how violence affects us in all areas of our lives, we all can benefit from
learning about STS. It is a study in human suffering which in the long
run, while seemingly difficult at the outset, results over time in
greater inner peace and a deeper well of reserves to draw upon in
service of others who suffer more than we. Read on for more about compassion fatigue, what it is and how we can deal with it!
Yours warmly,
Rachel Mann
Founder and Owner
MettaKnowledge for
Peace, LLC
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The Art of Surviving Compassion Fatigue:
A Multidimensional Approach
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| We are living in perilous times in which at every turn, we are faced
with unrelenting human suffering: natural disasters are increasing with
alarming frequency, wars waged on every continent, and terrorism a
constant concern. What is more, even if we live in relatively peaceful
conditions in our immediate family, communities or even nations, all we
have to do is turn on the television or open the newspaper to be
confronted with a collective dream filled with images of torture,
abandonment, abuse, murder, dismemberment, poverty, guns, bombs, and
various forms of physical and emotional abuse. With the rise of global
technologies and globalism, no one is immune.
Many of us may have jobs in which we are confronted with these
realities on a daily basis. Or we may be dealing with aging parents,
with the challenges of illness in ourselves and others, or with the
death of loved ones. It is so true, as Gautama Buddha said 2,500 years
ago that suffering is common to all. And perhaps more than ever, we are
asked to be a witness to it. Click here to continue.
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| The Spiritual Dimensions of Violence and Peace: A Workshop of Personal Exploration in Troubled Times, June 27, Charlottesville, VA
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In this workshop, we explore how the experience of violence
often opens up in ourselves and others a yearning for a more spiritual
way of seeing the world and life. We will examine how and why this
happens and how to harness it in ourselves and those we work with and support. In the process, we will learn how to
talk about religion and spirituality in a way that is respectful of
differences in beliefs and values.
Violence and trauma are ubiquitous in our world today. Many people
are seeking answers to pressing questions. How can we stop the cycle of
violence? Why is there so much violence? How can we find peace? These
are fundamentally spiritual questions, no matter what our religious,
moral, or spiritual beliefs and values. The answers, if we find any,
touch upon basic questions about why there is suffering and our faith
in whether healing and change in ourselves, the people we work with and
the world at large are possible. Indeed, an experience of violence
towards ourselves or others can lead us to a crisis of meaning and
faith. Click here for More.
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Other Upcoming MettaKnoweldge Summer Workshops
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Story and Healing in Action: Embracing Diversity with Compassion in our Workplaces
In this workshop, through the lens of storytelling and its power to
inform and heal, we will explore with compassion and curiosity
interracial and interethnic tensions in our workplaces with the goal of
developing a deeper understanding of what causes these problems and to
learn tools for addressing them. For more, click here.
Where: Charlottesville, VA
Date: Friday, July 25
Shamanism and the Art of Play: Finding Our Wholeness through Creativity
In this workshop, we engage our natural spontaneity and courage to be
ourselves through play, shamanic ways of seeing and art. The focus is
on releasing old patterns of struggle and trauma using methods from
age-old shamanic healing practices. For more information, click here.
Where: Charlottesville, VA
Date: Saturday, July 19
All workshops cost $95 (includes refreshments and lunch)
To register, click here.
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| Approaching Diversity with Kindness |
I was recently asked, "How can we approach introducing the topic of the problems of discrimination in a way that fosters openness and curiosity about this societal problem, particularly when people believe it no longer exists?" It is a a very good question. In the past half century, the U.S. has come a long way in dismantling racism and sexism. We have gone from Jim Crow to seeing blacks, women and other minorities gain a strong foothold in our economy. Yet, we also see in events like the beating of Rodney King and here in my own hometown, an attack a few years ago on Daisy Lundy, an African-American student at UVA by white men in retaliation for her run for President of Student Council that these problems still exist. Those who self-identify as gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgendered probably face the most difficult hurdles today for basic civil rights.
While these are more aggregious examples of blatant discrimination and hatred, they exist at the tip of the iceberg of the legacy of hatred and oppression of others due to the color of their skin, their gender, or their sexual orientation, among other identities. Outside the U.S., other identities are more salient, such as the Kurds in Iraq or the Chechens in Russia. Identity is a fluid thing and very much based on culture, history, geography, and other factors.
I believe the foundation of all such tensions rests in our shared experience of violence and trauma. To that end, addressing such issues with others must be approached first through the lens of our shared, human suffering long before we leap to asking others to see how they may be benefitting socio-economically from the color of their skin, their gender, or sexual orientation. Discrimination is a form of violence as powerful and insidious as war. We are also all affected by all forms of violence, even if we live in relatively protected and privileged circumstances. None of us are immune. And whether we are privileged by virture of birth, education, race, gender, or any other appellation, in this day and age, we are all at risk. Here at the heart of our common human pain is the ground of our shared plight and humanity. From here, we can open up in kindness to ourselves and one another and find new ground upon which to approach the very loaded and often scary topic of discrimination in all its forms. Stay tuned for the next issue of MettaKnowledge newsletter for more on this topic!
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The Art of Surviving Digital Exhibition is Launched
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 The Art of Surviving is a project bridging
the perspectives and work of survivors of sexual violence, educators,
activists, and scholars through the lens of a dynamic
exhibit of artwork and poetry created by survivors of sexual violence
across Virginia. The exhibit seeks to
raise awareness about the prevalence and scope of sexual violence, its
impact on individuals, families, and communities, and the process of
moving from victim of sexual violence to survivor. The exhibit can now be seen on-line at www.artofsurviving.org. The Art of Surviving is funded and sponsored by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, Private Donor Alice Twining, and MettaKnowledge for Peace. |
 When we engage with our own compassion fatigue, we begin to explore the nature of the heart and our capacity for caring. The heart in its natural state and the organ that holds the container of love in all of us will automatically respond with softness to these difficulties and will metabolize them into deeper and deeper levels of acceptance of the complexities of life. It will enable us to see the abused child in the perpetrator of sexual violence and will allow us to work with him or her with more caring even if we know what he or she did was wrong. At its most expansive, compassion can enable us in moments to hold all of humanity's pain in our hearts and to feel and incredible sense of wonder at the great mystery and creative potential of life. From here, we feel empowered to do anything. Thank you for reading another issue of "Explorations in Kindness"!
Warmly,
Rachel
Founder and Owner
MettaKnowledge for Peace, LLC
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