Kim Johnson at Common Threads asked us to write about compassion for our October Spiritual Journey gathering.
I was traveling on Thursday and failed to write my Spiritual Journey post ahead of time. This morning I've searched scripture, googled compassion, visited favorite books, looked at some poems and recalled an art exhibit I recently viewed in order to collect some thoughts on compassion.
My recent trip to Utah included attending the Restore Conference, a Faith Matters gathering of inspiring speakers and outstanding music, art, and community, all centered on restoring faith, belonging, and wholeness.
I attended a breakout session, Stepping out of our Chapels and into our Communities. The presenters provided a quiz (which I haven't taken yet) to help us identify our giving personality. Here's a slide of the nine types of giving personalities:
On Saturday morning we were asked to set an intention and called to practice compassion, curiosity, and courage.
The call to practice compassion reminded me of this quote from Brené Brown:
“Compassion is not a virtue—it is a commitment. It’s not something we have or don’t have—it’s something we choose to practice.”
While I was in Salt Lake City, a friend and I visited the Church History Museum's exhibition of the 13th International Art Competition featuring recent work of 150 Latter-day Saint artists from around the world exploring the gospel message “Lift Up the Hands Which Hang Down.” You can see the artwork by clicking on the title of the exhibit, but I highly encourage an in-person visit if you happen to be in the area. The art was varied and diverse and will be available until January 3, 2026.
I discovered a poem "Holding the Light" by Stuart Kestenbaum which ties in perfectly with this month's theme of compassion and a quote I shared last month from Anne Lamont's book, Stitches.
These words from 1 Peter 3: 8 (NKJV) speak to this month's theme:
"Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous."
As I put together this blog post, I realized that while my giving personality may be as a convener/gatherer, I'm also a gatherer/collector of words. One of my favorite ways to write about our theme each month is to collect and share the words of others. Now that I've written my post, I'm off to read your posts (my reward for finishing).
