Passion for Compassion

May 21

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”

— Maya Angelou

On a recent bike ride I came across a Pagoda, a landmark in town near where I live. Now I have ridden past this tower many times on my bike yet this time life reached out to offer me a message.

We happened to stop for a quick break near a plaque for the tower that I had never seen before. I learned that the Pagoda even had the name, The Compassion Tower.

It was built and dedicated to the city by the Kanemoto Family in 1973. In doing more research later, I found out that this family did so to share their gratitude to the city (along with donating the land for the park it sits in) for their kindness after World War II when many Japanese people were being jailed in concentration camps.

The City of Longmont embraced this family who went on to do many great things for the community in return. The words on the plaque for this five-leveled tower, intentionally built for the five levels of compassion say so much on this topic:

Compassion is to live the life of love, empathy, understanding and gratitude of all things, and giving selflessly of oneself for the happiness of all beings.

Love (First Level)
If I truly love someone, I must love all humanity. How can I really love someone if I hate others?

Empathy (Second Level)
Your happiness is my happiness, your sadness is my sadness, I feel your pain, I feel your joy.

Understand (Third Level)
Mankind is one, we are all interdependent, how can I alone be happy if my family is sad? How can we Americans be really happy when over half the world goes to bed hungry?

Gratitude of All Things (Fourth Level)
I am here because of my parents, food I eat comes from the land, clothing I wear comes from the animals, shelter I live in comes from the trees, the knowledge I have comes from my parents, teachers and others. Therefore, I am the total sum of others, so I must have gratitude in all things.

Giving Selflessly of Oneself (Fifth Level)
As I give myself to others strangely enough, I find myself and I find real happiness.

All these things put together become the essence of compassion and this is what the tower of compassion stands for.

As we head towards Memorial Day weekend ahead that culminates in a day that is dedicated to those who have given their lives in service to our country, I think it’s a wonderful reminder of all that we have the power to be even with one simple word: compassion.

Wishing you passion for compassion in the days ahead!

Ep. 29 - A Mother's Story

Courage to Be the Difference Podcast

This week’s podcast is a personal story from me to you keeping mind the value of compassion. In the podcast I share about a special experience I had with my mom before she left the planet in 2009. My mother, as mothers do, taught me so much about gratitude. I want to share what she taught me with you!

Yesterday I rode in the Wheel to Survive Fundraiser with my mom with me every pedal of the way. Thank you for everyone for your generous donations so far for this important cause. If you haven't yet had a chance, there is still time to donate.

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