What does the word compassion mean to you?
For me, compassion implies more than simply a general catch-all word for any type of kindness. Rather, as Compassionate U is attempting to highlight, the word itself calls for an active involvement. This has always, for me, meant that I need to engage emotionally as well as physically. The sort of empathy called for by true compassion can be frightening, and I admit to falling short many times. Real care for people, without a safe and comfortable level of removal from their circumstances, is what “compassion” beckons us to give. As this website grows, I hope that my willingness to be vulnerable to this type of genuine compassion will grow as well.
When it comes to compassion, in what issues are you most interested?
When it comes right down to it, I long for the day when all human beings can begin to expect, not just hope for, acceptance and respect for exactly who they are, wherever they may be in life. Granted, this means work from those on all sides of every divisive issue that we can come up with. For now, there are a few issues that have driven my thinking about compassion more closely than others. In my life as a reader and a scholar, and also as a woman, I have been closely involved with writings in feminist theory. As a vegetarian of some years, the issues surrounding humankind’s relationships with animals have come to play an increasingly important role as well. Of course, issues of inequality are innumerable and varied. I have not even touched on world and domestic poverty, strained racial relations, the AIDS crisis, the continuing struggles of the gay rights movement, or any one of a host of other problems with which I hope this project will somehow engage.
What is your relationship with Compassionate U?
I became involved with Compassionate U through my long-time and wonderful, and life-changing friendship with founder Shawn Sweeney. I think, in many ways, Shawn was there to see my full-fledged awakening as a compassionate individual. When Shawn contacted me about contributing to the site, I was thrilled. I am honored to be involved in what I believe to be such an important conversation for the world in which we live. I hope to bring whatever expertise I have managed to glean from studies in the humanities to this ambitious and worthwhile project.
How will you contribute to Compassionate U?
My main involvement with Compassionate U will be as lead contributor to the “Compassionate Bookshelf.” I am a life-long reader, and I believe that the written word has the power to tell stories that spur people into action. As I embark on a career in librarianship, I am in part staking my professional life on this belief. Books can be entirely transformative and can inspire greater joy than we sometimes care to give them credit for in our modern age. I hope to be able to share some of that joy with our readers throughout my various posts on Compassionate U.
How do you spend your days? Do you work full time, or otherwise?
This fall I will begin coursework for a master’s degree in library and information science at the University of Maryland, College Park. I have worked in a library for the past three years, and have found the job to be extremely rewarding. I spend my spare time reading, of course, and singing. My husband Douglas and I are both involved with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, and I will be working part-time as a paid soloist for the choir of Old St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Baltimore, MD.
