Share the Light

A reflection on compassion

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A Poem - Song

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When you build a blazing fire
do you keep it to yourself,
as the flames are rising higher,
do you try to damp them down
unless you might be found,
warm and lighted in the cold?

When you find a precious treasure,
do you hide it in its place,
are you so afraid to face
the jealousy of others,
that you set it under cover,
and never share its grace?

As you sit around your table
and share your latest spoils,
do the losers even matter
when the winners have their toys,
how they marvel in their take,
not a morsel left to spare.

What is this great abundance,
this might of which you speak,
where the richest own it all
and leave nothing for the weak,
can selfishness be shattered
when you become aware

The fire is meant for rising
and the treasure to be seen,
abundance to be gathered,
shared even to the least,
invite them to the wedding feast
of love and compassion.

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“.. for it belongs to compassion to be bountiful to others, and, what is more, to succor others in their wants … in a certain way compassion is Christ himself. — Thomas Aquinas (1200’s)

Fox, Matthew. The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times (p. 120). iUniverse. Kindle Edition.

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