The Faces of Compassionate Living

By Claire Rice

The term “compassionate living” has different meanings for different people. Generally it entails making conscious compassionate choices that benefit the earth, people and animals. In order to explore the different meanings, I set out on a quest to discover how compassionate living manifests itself within the Athens community.

Cal Clements is the founder of Rubber Soul Yoga Revolution. His definition of compassionate living is “Do no harm and at the same time, create waves of inspiration.” While many people tend to think that leaving no trace on the planet is preferable from an ecological perspective, Clements points out that leaving a positive legacy, an “echo effect,” is an important part of compassionate living. Quoting the Bhagavad Gita, one of the sacred Hindu texts, Clements says “Non-action is not better than action.” His main mode of action is through yoga and theater. Yoga facilitates compassion through helping one get to one’s true self. “Ultimately we are all generous, thoughtful and open, but we have to regroup in order to find that place inside ourselves,” the yoga instructor states. Rubber Soul Yoga creates a positive environment for practicing yoga; “It’s the exact kind of setting in which you’d want to interact with people… we don’t even have to create conversation, we’re just pleased that we’re getting together to do something fun and at the end everyone is delighted,” Clements says.

Another of his projects includes the Forest Theater of Pure Form, a group of artists who collaborate to create unique performances that engage audiences in unusual ways. Clements believes that theater and art can also be forms of compassionate living because they create something that is “life-enhancing or beautiful and that brings energy and inspiration to a community.” Clements is a long-time vegetarian and feels strongly about his choice, yet he says, “I don’t start off every yoga class saying that really no one should be bringing meat into the studio in the form of, like, in their bellies. Although technically that is true of yoga because the first principle of yoga is ahimsa, or non-violence, so technically one wouldn’t get any benefit out of yoga if one is burning animal flesh for fuel.” Living an environmentally-friendly lifestyle is also important. Clements resides in a travel trailer, so he does not have to heat a large space or take up a lot of land. He also uses a carbon calculator to determine how much carbon he uses to keep the yoga studio running, as well as the amount used by people who drive cars to class. He then offsets the carbon using money from the donation-based yoga studio.

Jerry Hendelberg, keyboard player and vocalist for Athens-based reggae group DubConscious, has a different idea of compassionate living. “We are all connected beings on this planet and the more we become aware of that, the more we wake up to living in harmony with the world around us,” Hendelberg shares. DubConscious practices nonviolent communication within the band, a process that improves the quality of connection between people and allows them to communicate with more compassion and clarity. Hendelberg says “It definitely has helped me because we all realize that our relationships with others such as family, girlfriends, wives and friends, whatever the relationship is, there is the key of communication is at the root.” Marshall Rosenberg, an American psychologist, started the Center for Nonviolent Communication in New Mexico and is spreading the word about this form of communication that has been instrumental in creating change in the world by people such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Another important form of compassionate living for Hendelberg is vegetarianism. He criticizes the current factory farm system within the United States that involves pumping steroid into animals, keeping them in horrible conditions, and then slaughtering them. “It’s a vicious cycle that results in uncompassionate living,” he says. Closely related to vegetarianism, environmental sustainability is another vital aspect of compassionate living for Hendelberg. For example, the band is hoping to release their next album, called NonViolent, without using CDs, which are a wasteful form of media. DubConscious shows always have positive energy, which Hendelberg says they create through intention. “We all believe very strongly in the power of music,” he says. “However small or big of an impact we as musicians have, we are doing this for the positive, healing aspects.”

Liberty Newberry is a nutrition student at the University of Georgia. She is a long-time vegan and animal rights activist who has learned that it is important to be compassionate to animals as well as humans. Her compassion to humans manifests itself through education about nutrition and food. Newberry’s plans for the future include starting a co-op someplace where it is much needed and to educate people about the importance of having local food sources. “There are ways that you can eat that are supportive of your surrounds and your environment but that are also really nurturing to your body,” Newberry says. She emphasizes the importance of compassion in the local community which can be achieved by supporting local businesses. Newberry works at the local co-op, Daily Groceries, and says that “the people who work there and shop there are like-minded individuals. They share values and try to make positive change while limiting the negative.” Newberry has also served on the Board of Trustees at Common Ground, a community resource center for groups and individuals working for progressive social change. “It rounded out my view of what being compassionate is because before it was totally animals in the forefront, and it still is, but now I’m able to see that there are so many more things that are encompassed in that, such as social and environmental issues,” Newberry says.

Cailtin Smith is an Environmental Health major who is dedicated to using as little resources as possible. She is vegetarian mostly for the environment, but also because of the lack of compassion used in present-day factory farming methods. Her main focus, however, is understanding other people. On gay rights, women’s rights, and race issues, Smith says, “We have to make others understand that just because these people are doing something that you aren’t comfortable with doesn’t make it wrong.” She feels strongly about breaking the norm, changing the almost exclusively upper class, straight, white male government that we have created. “I will say, though, that our generation is going to change everything,” Smith says with a smile. As a resident assistant, she uses her position to educate others. “I put on a bunch of different programs that open their eyes to so many new things and I love that,” Smith shares. “I’m also on the women’s rugby team and I try to bring understanding and openness to them and they bring that to me too.” Leading by example is one of the most powerful methods of education and Caitlin Smith certainly sets a good example through her friendliness and positivity.

Evidently there are many forms of compassionate living. Nonviolence, activism, vegetarianism, environmental awareness, yoga/meditation and understanding of others are all forms of compassion that everyone can use. They are all connected and instrumental in improving the world that we live in. My research for this article has introduced me to some amazing individuals and to some new and inspiring ideas. I will be making some changes to live more compassionately, will you?