The Power of Compassion

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

The Late Archbishop Desmond Tutu

In the midst of the demands of Omicron, we face the reality that there is so much of this out of our control. TeachWell is encouraging us all to consider the Power of Compassion. 

Today, we are feeling the overwhelming effects of another wave of COVID. As the spread of the Omicron variant brings the threat of COVID to the surface again, many of us experience familiar feelings of powerlessness, fatigue, fear, and loss. This morning my heart is heavy after reading this article in the NY Times, which lays out data about the impact of COVID on children. It is hard to not feel overwhelmed by the alarming rates of suffering that this pandemic is having on our young generation. My initial feelings are those of paralysis, confusion, and dismay. I want to close the article, walk away.

Through my practice of mindfulness, I remember to pause. In this pause, I'm able to lean into the uncomfortable feelings as a way by which to connect to the children who suffer, to understand more deeply what they are experiencing. My heart grows heavy again, as I imagine who these children are. I remember the students who have sat in my office over the years. Their stories repeat again in my head and touch my heart– stories of gun violence, suicidal ideation, failure in school, and isolation. I can feel myself holding that space with empathy, listening deeply, ensuring that these children feel heard, seen, and understood. When I consider the data in this article and feel these stories of the children, and at the very same moment, I'm acutely aware of the fatigue and burnout that so many educators are experiencing from holding the space for children through COVID. I feel the scope of the suffering expand.

When love meets suffering, compassion emerges. I understand that empathy is my ability to feel the impact of COVID on others and to relate to it through my own experiences. Compassion moves me to action. But today, the actions escape me. The circumstances, the duration of navigating this pandemic, the impact on our children, teachers, and the institution of education feel insurmountable. 

Through my mindfulness practice, I remember to exhale, let the pain of it all move through me. And I ask myself, What is the most difficult part of this? Where does it hurt most? It hurts most when I see teachers unable to care for themselves, blaming the students, losing the joy in their vocation. And it hurts when I think of the children, who need the safe spaces and boundaries a school can provide now more than ever, lacking the people and structures to hold them. Another wave of sadness comes . . . and I remember, feeling for others but doing nothing leads to fatigue and burnout. I consider what actions of compassion can come from this place of sadness.  

I’m no longer on the frontlines of the work. Through TeachWell my focus is on the resilience of the adults who now sit with those children. With my TeachWell Team, I hold space for the adults on the frontlines. We strive to pass on to educators the practices that will keep them well so that they can provide safe spaces for children.  We remain steadfast in our commitment to educator wellbeing. And I will admit that with this new wave of COVID, and all the uncertainty, complexity, and volatility that comes with it, it is hard to know what to do for educators who are navigating this latest blow of disruption and chaos. 

In times like these, no action feels adequate enough to match the struggles of those for whom we care. These remain unprecedented times of a global experience. No one person is experiencing the pandemic in isolation. Each one of us is affected by COVID in some form. We cannot afford to push this collective experience away. We must have the courage to feel into this reality, to lean in and allow ourselves to feel the ways in which the students, the parents, the teachers, administrators, and our greater community are struggling. Our evolutionary survival depends on it. Tara Brach, a clinical psychologist reminds us that, compassion for others, our ability to feel their experience, and to be moved to act in a way that cares for their experience, is a “key adaptive strategy in our human evolution.” Acting with compassion is part of our survival no matter how big or small the act. This experience of the pandemic can be considered a critical opportunity in human consciousness evolution.

Acts of compassion are a service. I'm struck by the words of Indian Master Meher Baba, “ [actions] ​​are not limited to heroic acts, great gestures, and huge donations to public institutions. They also serve who express their love in little things. A word that gives courage to a broken heart or a smile that brings hope in the midst of gloom is as much service as heroic sacrifice. A glance that wipes out bitterness from the heart is also service, although there may be no thought of service in it. When taken by themselves all these things seem to be small, but life is made up of many small things. If these small things were ignored, life would not only be unbeautiful, it would be unbearable.”

It is true that many of the complexities of COVID are out of our sphere of control or even influence. In light of this, we must consider the power and influence of our human engagements. Education, after all, is fundamentally a relational endeavor. TeachWell is encouraging our clients to consider this: One of the greatest things we can do is to offer respite to our educators: respite in connection with each other to share their collective struggles; respite in the quiet space of mindful breath that calms the nervous system; the respite in humor born from the absurdity of how challenging the current state of our schools really is; respite in knowing that this is not permanent, perfect, or personal.

We urge anyone connected to a school or an educator to listen to the stories of our children and our educators during this time. Allow yourself to feel the struggle and connect with the experiences of a teacher, a student, an administrator, a parent. Without trying to solve the unsolvable, we ask you then, to ACT with compassion. 

Teachers, can you greet each other in the hallway, check-in, ask one another how you are doing? 

Administrators, can you acknowledge the fears and fatigue of your staff? 

Parents, can you believe that schools are doing the best they can in an untenable situation and offer them patience?

Students, can you show respect to the adults who care for you and remember, they are doing their best and are still showing up for you?

Simply put, we can bring patience, kindness, and compassion to our engagements with each other. We can offer a smile, a kind word, and hope in these challenging times. 

What choice will you make today to act with compassion?

What little bit of good can you offer?