I got to thinking about the actual meaning of love versus compassion. It’s similar to the quandary of which comes first: the chicken or the egg; or the observation that it is possible to separate the yolk from the white of the egg – but do we still have an egg? Is it possible to separate love from compassion?
If I were a university professor teaching a course on the differences between love and compassion I don’t know what I would say to my students…the analogy of the white and yolk of the egg helps. The yolk can be separated from the white, yet they have not been created autonomously. One would not exist without the other even though they can be described independently.
As a psychologist, I have learned about the many feelings that humans experience. One can find a list of these on the Internet or in one of the reams of books on the subject (causes/roots etc.).
As a person on the spiritual path, I believe that love is all there is. So why does Spirit have a separate word for compassion, gratitude, forgiveness? Perhaps…together… these words-energies all make up the hugely vast vibration of love? And, why are both love and compassion located in the heart chakra, which resides near our physical heart space? Why not just love? Why not just compassion?
Love is all there is, but fear exists. Fear is said to be part and parcel of our experience on earth (on the earth school, so to speak); fear is part of the illusion of the ego and it’s our soul’s mission to work through and tame the astral body, the locus of our accumulated feelings over lifetimes; this working-through and taming leads us to love. Now, that’s a mouthful!!! Glad I got it out. I’ve asked a lot of questions, but provided few answers.
Questions…answers…from this perspective I journey and continue to wonder: can love exist without compassion? I don’t think so! Love is everything, and its soul mate is compassion! The marriage of the two is essential, as we cannot live without these. And, we’re in search of love and compassion if it is absent from our lives (we feel a deprivation when we have a disconnect with our Higher Self). “Love is nature’s way of giving a reason to be living…” (From the song, “Love is a Many-Splendored Thing,” The Four Aces, 1955, from a film of the same title). I highly recommend the YouTube video “Moulin Rouge — Elephant Love Medley.” It takes my breath away!
Linda
lindamarsanico.com
