It was taken by the Mars Rover on May 19, 2005. If you contemplate it long enough, you get a sense of where we are in relationship to it. (Hint: closer to the Sun) I can imagine myself with the Rover at the time this picture is taken--it could just as easily be somewhere in the Southwest desert here on Earth except... doesn't our sun look tiny? Aren't we fortunate to be on this spinning orb instead of Mars? What luck.

Wow.

Cultivating compassion starts with self-compassion: understanding what motivates us, suspending self-judgment and negative self-talk, and allowing ourselves to be present to whatever we are experiencing in the moment.   The act of noticing, of paying attention and of experiencing gives us the information we need to make decisions and choices about where to spend our energies. This ultimately leads us to take action that transforms our own internal structures and, in doing so, the world around us.   Compassion is a gift, and thus both to offer and to receive compassion is a blessing.   Paradoxically, by cultivating compassion, we also experience the pain of our world and the pain of others while at the same time living life more fully.


Cultivating compassion, as a practice, creates the conditions for positive change in our own lives.   The decision to cultivate compassion, and the powerful practice of noticing but not judging, in itself creates good benefit. 

Many communities around the globe are endorsing the International Charter for Compassion as a way to bring awareness to their own community and promoting the cultivation of community compassion through action.  The Charter for Compassion is a worldwide effort launched by noted religious scholar Karen Armstrong and elaborated in her book Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life.  The Charter for Compassion document, now translated into more than 30 languages, transcends religious, ideological and national difference, and is supported by many leading thinkers from many spiritual traditions.  From the Charter:

“We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.”

The full text of the Charter for Compassion is well worth reading and can be found online at www.charterforcompassion.org.  

Human creativity is meant for more than creating plastic products that make their way into the landfill within a year of purchase. Humans unintentionally created the circumstance we find ourselves in and human creativity can be applied in equal measure to follow a new course.  As I see it, it should be possible for anyone to pursue their true livelihood, to make a living doing what they love and improving their part of the world in the process.  To make this happen, we need to connect and support one another, learn from one another and find ways to create mutual benefit.  Imagine what would happen if we applied our creativity to supporting the positive potential in others! 

Recently, I find myself drawn to a new form of business development that aligns heart-centered work with the latest trends in commerce powered by social media.  It starts with the fundamental belief that we can support one another, serve one another and do business at the same time.  I relish sharing new tools that help make the business part of it easier and encourage socially and environmentally responsible entrepreneurial skills and energy.  My belief and dream is that this energy is what will transform our world for the better, and none too soon.