The Gift of Compassion

Written by Ann Marie Rosa

This fall, our Sacred Threads community gathered around a shared theme: Nourishing Our Compassion. Through conversations with authors, spiritual guides, and one another, we explored what compassion looks like in real life—how it begins within, how it shapes our relationship with the earth, and how it calls us toward those living at the margins. These programs reminded us that compassion is both a spiritual practice and a courageous choice, one we must return to again and again.

At Christmas, we are invited once more into the heart of compassion—a love that begins within and ripples outward to the world around us. In a season that can so easily become hurried or stressed, self-compassion reminds us to pause, breathe, and recognize our own humanity. When we tend to our inner life, we make room for hope, healing, and renewed strength.

This inner compassion naturally expands to the wider world. Our earth, both fragile and awesome, longs for our care. Every small act—reducing waste, choosing simplicity, noticing beauty—becomes an expression of gratitude for nature and a step toward a more sustainable future.

And compassion calls us even further: toward those who live at the margins. The Christmas story itself centers the overlooked and the vulnerable, reminding us that love is found not in power, but in humility and in opening our hearts to others. When we listen deeply to others, accompany them, and work for justice, we participate in the vital work of healing our community.

May this season awaken in each of us a fierce and tender compassion—for ourselves, for our earth, and for all who long to be seen and held in love.