The Part That's Doing Me In

This is a talk about compassion, and how it doesn’t come with conditions. In an ideal world, if we see someone suffering, we want to help. We all understand this is not an ideal world, one has only to look at how many people on this planet are without shelter or food, how much violence there is. We are becoming numb to the suffering of others. As the wildfires have raged throughout Los Angeles the last ten days, as close friends have had their homes burn to the ground and their entire communities destroyed, as we’ve all watched an app to see if we have to evacuate, and as everyone I know is in a state of shock and grief to some extent or another - the thing that has worried me the most are some of the heartless, vitriolic comments online. The judgements, assumptions, and smug assertions. The threats to withhold disaster relief funds unless California bends a knee, and the idea that a natural disaster and human suffering would be used as leverage. There has also been a tremendous outpouring of love and support, we are all rallying around our friends out here, people are taking care of one another and showing up in every way imaginable, but some of the things I’ve seen and heard as all of this has happened (and continues to happen) have broken my heart, tested my faith, and genuinely scared me for all of us. We seem to be reaching a new and terrifying low, and that isn’t good for any of us.