Compassion

I have heard, read and seen many stories, essays, documentaries and articles providing reasons to take care of the Earth and the living beings in it. Some are very good, others seem rather exaggerated. Nowadays we hear the apocalyptical discourse time and time again. It is everywhere: if we do not stop the devastation of our planet we are all going to die, the Earth will become a terrible place and humans, too, after much suffering, will become extinct. Fair enough, I am not going to debate that.
However, I had never heard or read anything more convincing in this topic than the "Story of the Eagle" in the Lakota ways book. It shed light in an issue I thought I knew everything about. It's not scientific reasons or convincing arguments what should move us to respect live in every form: it should be sheer compassion.
The compassion the eagle showed to the girl in the story not only saved her life, but also prevented the human race from disappearing from the Earth. And I'm thinking: would it be terribly difficult for us to repay the favor? To start feeling compassion for the eagles that are disappearing from this country by the minute, thanks to human deeds? I know, this is just a story. But I would rather believe that this really happened and start showing compassion to other living creatures than believing the apocalyptic theory and then acting out of fear. Somehow it feels more... adequate.

In Spanish (as in many romance languages) the word for compassion is com-pasión, which literally means: with passion. And passion is not only what we feel when we are in love, or when something is close to our heart. Passion, in fact, is to suffer (hence, the Passion of Christ is the suffering he endured until his death). So compassion would actually mean "to suffer with". Showing compassion for someone is to feel the pain that someone is feeling, and then acting from that pain. It is about sharing and understanding the other in such a level that you are able to feel, as if it was yours, their pain.
I have yet to meet someone in pain who would not do anything to stop it. Compassion, then, is not just about feeling sorry for someone. There is a great deal of sacrifice going on for anyone who's being compassionate. And that's the second lesson from the story of the eagle: sacrifice.
The eagle was a powerful being. He had everything he needed to survive. He could go wherever he chose to. Yet he chose to stay, to bring food and wood, and to keep company to the young woman. He sacrificed his time, his energy and ultimately who he was because he could feel the pain the girl felt of being alone and helpless. He could have easily felt sorry for her and killed her during her sleep so that she would suffer no more, but that wouldn't have being compassionate at all.
So now I wonder: would we be willing to sacrifice not only what we do but we are for others? Can we really show compassion to the world? I'm not sure. But I hope we can.