Compassion: Fatigue

Massive exposure to human misery often leads to psychic numbness.  Our minds cannot tolerate being constantly reminded of things which interfere with what we are doing at the moment.  

~Henri Nouwen  

This morning I (Tom) watched the news and was struck by the formulaic/ritualized way the news was presented.  I heard about two children who are missing, the implosion of the government in Syria, the ever-negative tone of the presidential campaign, wildfires, the drought and heat wave gripping much of the United States, the increasing number of suicides in the armed forces, and the scores of the latest baseball games and Kardashian drama.  What particularly caught my attention was the manner in which the news broadcasters conveyed this news.  There was a genuine lack of emotion, a uniformity and sameness in their tone and delivery that didn’t change whether the news was tragic, bad, silly or ridiculous.  And in all seriousness, I too have become desensitized to the harsh events about which we are hearing.  It is easy when we are not living it, when situations do not personally touch our lives; it is easy to have them not affect us in any significant way, to simply become unemotional and numb ourselves.  

And I (Michael)–to be perfectly honest and open–as I was reading this morning’s paper found myself consciously skipping over certain articles that had headlines dealing with death, destruction, and disaster.  I found myself not being ready to deal with the heaviness and human misery those articles promised to convey.  And in total sincerity, there will always be an excuse not to read about or listen to stories of others’ distress.  Because sometimes it’s just too much.  It certainly isn’t because I don’t care or am indifferent to the needs of this world;  it’s just that I don’t know what I, by myself, can do.  

The important thing to remember first and foremost is to have grace for ourselves.  To know that we alone cannot solve all the problems of the world, take away all the misery and pain, relieve all of the human suffering.  But it also takes some reawakening, some re-imagining, some deconstructing, and a new understanding of how we too need compassion ourselves.  When we are able to see our own brokenness, our own humanity, our own weakness, our own vulnerability, we are then able to empathize and respond in sensitivity towards others.  When we are able to see how much we have been in need in our own lives, how much we need someone to share our problems with, how much we need someone who can be present with us in our own burdens and distress we will be moved to compassion. 

Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash