Freedom Beauty Truth

The entire goal of the spiritual life is compassion – a s Meister Eckhart emphasised,  “if you were in an ecstasy as deep as that of St. Paul and there was a sick man who needed a cup of soup, it were better for you that you returned from the ecstasy and brought the cup of soup for love’s sake.” I fail this test frequently. And not because I am in ‘an ecstasy’ too great to tear myself away from and serve my fellow human beings…no, nothing as wonderfully spiritual-sounding as that… Most often it’s because I am too busy, ‘not in the mood’, distracted, irritated or self-absorbed… Compassion takes time, energy and the willingness to become involved in something that might snowball into something much bigger than you at first anticipated. Sometimes I just don’t feel I have the energy to ‘go there’ with a particular person or situation I am confronted with, usually at an inopportune moment (like when you are on your way to work, or already late for an appointment…) Is it even ‘reasona...

He was running next to our car as if his life depended on it – and maybe it did! I felt a whirlpool of emotions, ranging from sadness and pity to fear and anger: fearful that he would be hurt or run over by our car, or another; angry that my husband didn’t just stop (he couldn’t - we were crossing a busy city intersection!); sad that his situation (and that of many in this country) could be so desperate that he would do this just to sell one magazine! It was Saturday, and we were on our way to a movie. We had stopped at a traffic light, and started to call over one of the ‘Big Issue’ magazine vendors that are always there, when the lights changed, and we had to move on. The man eagerly ran over to catch us before we passed, but just then I realised we only had a R50 – the magazine costs R18 (of which half goes to the vendor) and we often just give a R20 as there is very little time to scramble for change…but R50? While I continued to scrounge through the wallet for something else, he...

Last week on the bus, I witnessed the driver losing his temper, quite spectacularly. So over-the-top, it seemed to me - but then I had no idea what the rest of his day, or his life, had been up to that point... A car tried to turn at the same time as the bus, by pushing its way into the far left lane - overtaking from the inside - and the bus driver cursed him loudly (through the door he had opened, to ensure all the other motorists and pedestrians could hear, and see his gestures). This went on for a few minutes, as all around us came to a stop to watch two grown men vent their frustrations on each other in this rather strange public display. I felt a bit sad about it all, but that didn't stop me feeling a bit amused, and judgemental, at the same time. yet how many times have I lost my temper, in situations that would seem ridiculous to a casual observer? Anyway, many buses later that day, I caught myself pushing in at the frantic semi-queue, which heaves and surges as...