Jared Seide presents Where Compassion Begins

Compassion is sometimes confused with empathy, or even sympathy. It is neither, though it includes some aspects of both. Compassion begins when we allow ourselves to really hear and attune to suffering, that of others, as well as ourselves. And hearing and perceiving this anguish, we are moved to do something about it. What takes compassion beyond sympathy or empathy is that it includes action, action that is considered, skillful and beneficial.

Council is a foundational practice that builds our capacity to perceive the experience of others and invites us to pay attention. When we listen differently to someone’s story, without judging, we create the conditions for compassion to arise. Council asks us to lean in, to learn ways we can skillfully attend to the pain we recognize in ourselves and others, and to do something helpful in response. This book is an invitation to build the muscle of compassion, through exercises and practices that enhance our capacity to listen from the heart and, in so doing, take care of ourselves and those around us.

Transitions is a book of mainstream fiction, written in the tradition of the short stories classics. Like Joseph Conrad, the author of “Transitions” put fictional characters in situations different from his own experiences but suitable to trigger the same or very similar set of emotions when dealing with those situations.

Local Author Day feat. Jared Seide and José L. Recio