Compassion as Mutual Flourishing

How do we show self-compassion so that our true selves can flourish? In February’s We Conspire series, we consider compassion through a lens of interconnectedness and flourishing. Tiffany Bluhm, executive director of PAX, stands in the lineage of women of color who have embraced compassion as an invitation to fully inhabit their own stories.  

Tiffany Bluhm, executive director of PAX, stands in the lineage of women of color who have held the tension of chaos, grief, and beauty. For such women who discover their true selves beyond the echo of dominant culture or societal expectations, compassion becomes an invitation to accept one’s own life and reality with humility. This acceptance, despite its imperfections, allows individuals to live fully and to flourish in their own stories. Tiffany says of her own life, “It’s mine to live. Compassion reminds me that I cannot push the goalpost to flourishing further away the closer I get to it. Compassion invites me to live in that flourishing today and define what that looks like in my story despite my broken story lines.” 

When dominant culture overlays compassion with pity, it is often viewed from a perspective of hierarchy. Charity is often extended from a place of privilege to help or to rescue those who are less fortunate. Rather than saviorism, or objectifying people as agendas or projects, compassion allows us to consider the ways we are all interconnected. Bluhm invites us to think of compassion from an equitable perspective, as participation in the flourishing of our true selves. When the importance of mutuality and reciprocity in giving and receiving is emphasized, a vision of collective flourishing is shared. As Indigenous Australian visual artist and activist Lilla Watson once said, “My liberation is bound up with yours.”  

Contemplation, Bluhm says, leads to a compassion that reminds us of what’s true about ourselves and others, about what we deserve and what others deserve amid the suffering of our world. It provides a third, alternative way to exist together, to love one another, and to love ourselves where we may have not before. 

At PAX, which means peace in Latin, contemplative activism meets creative arts. The organization believes the world needs more writers, poets, and songwriters who are pushing the movement of peace and justice forward. Through values of peace, justice, and contemplation, PAX uplifts, promotes, and celebrates Christians of color across the spectrum of ages 25 to 45. Fellows embark on an eight-month spiritual journey where they imagine what their own life could look like in a place of fruition. They explore topics such as cosmic peace, scripture through a minority lens, cultural identity, and contemplative activism.  

PAX feels led by compassion to create a psychologically safe space for fellows to have a sense of belonging, to care for themselves and for their souls with contemplative practices. Through rooting themselves in the way of the Divine, they can stay committed to serving in a world of suffering.  

When we are psychologically safe, Bluhm says, we can bring forth our most true, most authentic selves. In that sense, psychological safety creates an environment for compassion to flourish, not only as a demonstration in the world but also in our own bodies. One of the great values of the Christian contemplative tradition is reminding you that everything you need, you already have. There’s no leaving you out of the story. PAX’s greatest desire is that fellows would see themselves, in the words of Psalm 23:2, walking by still waters, and not having to fight for what is already theirs. PAX seeks for their fellows to blossom at the intersection of their craft and call, seeing themselves not as accessories to the greatest story ever told, the story of love, but central to it. 

Reflect with Us  
How can we embrace compassion as an act of self-acceptance and flourishing? What practices of self-compassion have been helpful for you to remember what’s true about yourself and others? Share your reflection with us. 

We Conspire is a series from the Center for Action and Contemplation featuring wisdom and stories from the growing Christian contemplative movement. Sign up for the monthly email series and receive a free invitation to practice each month.