There are many ways to live a compassion-centered lifestyle...
Here's how my family is doing it.
Through Play, Exploration, & Parenting:
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Play is a powerful way to educate, advocate, and fuel social change. When we play and use our imagination, our mind opens. It releases the mental and even societal barriers that have built up over the years. When we play, we practice collaboration and teamwork while also creating a safe space for exploration.
Much of the joy we experienced happened when we were children. When was that? What were you doing? Who were you with? We need to shift our thinking to include play as something that is valued in our society. As a family, we have fun together, we explore, and we ask questions that evoke curiosity. Our son teaches us how we can recapture our childlike wonder. It shows us that we can all teach each other something valuable. We find it is helpful to bring our son into the conversation about what is happening in our world and create a space that invites his ideas for change (see The Earth Protectors). This builds his confidence and autonomy. We also try to cultivate a love of learning. Every day, we are supporting his development of kindness, courage, resiliency, self-confidence, and awareness that can carry him into adulthood and help him be a great steward of the world. Our goal is to parent in a way that invites our son to be part of the solution. We want to help him cultivate a love and respect for our environment, animals, and other humans; which hopefully propels him to be of the next generation of changemakers that will design a world that works for all. Activities:
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Through Conscious Living: |
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We believe that change starts in our hearts and in our home. Over the last few years we have been transforming our home to be more conscious about our ecological footprint while expanding our circle of compassion to other animals and to the surrounding community.
We first started by looking at the food we ate and its potential impact. Through our research, we came to the conclusion that a plant-based vegan diet was most inline with our values and beliefs. By eating this way, we are able to live a life that keeps us healthy and happy and aids in the protection and care of animals and the environment. Not only are we mindful about the animal and environmental impacts, but we also consider the human rights aspect as well by looking at where our food is sourced and the working conditions involved. Because we care deeply about the living world and all those that live on it, we wanted to create an outdoor space that was for all. Our garden is now certified as a wildlife habitat. Since redesigning our space, we have found that more wildlife, including butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees, are making it their home. We find that each has their favorite food. Our resident squirrel loves the buttercrunch lettuce, green beans, and strawberries, the snails and slugs love the basil, while the birds love feasting on pumpkin seeds. We make sure to grow enough for everyone! It is now a habitat for all creatures, big and small. The next phase is to replace the turf grass with native plants to create a true ecological paradise. In addition to the flora and fauna, we also installed a Little Free Library where neighbors are welcome to take a book if they see one they like. This has been a great way to meet our neighbors, create community, as well as introduce the idea of a society based on giving. There are many things that we can do and sometimes it can feel overwhelming and like we aren't doing enough, but have solace, as Zoe Weil, co-founder of the Institute of Humane Education explains, it's not about being perfect, it is about doing the most good and least harm. Activities:
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Through Lifelong Learning, Outreach, & Creative Activism:
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We believe that inner transformation leads to outer change. By being curious about the world and open to new ideas, we leave the door open for growth to occur.
By giving presentations, workshops, and speeches about topics such as animal protection, environmental ethics, and human rights, we aim to educate the community in a way to leads to big questions. Every day we also education by modelling what living more compassionately looks like. We like to show "how" you can do it and be available as a resource for those that want to take the steps towards living a more compassion-centered life. In addition to education, we are also involved in advocacy work. We believe activism does not need to be filled with anger and hostility, instead, it can be full of compassion. Instead of marching down the street shouting at each other, can we dance down the street, bring people in, and help them understand why social change is needed? Much more can be accomplished when we offer our hand out, lend a smile, and bring people into the conversation. Creative expression can also be a powerful tool for change. Our family uses music, dance, storytelling, poetry, and art to express our message. Visual, language, and instrumental arts have a way of connecting with others on a profound level. We also find it to be very therapeutic and a great outlet for expression. Self-care is also vitally important and something we practice every day. Activities:
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