We are a feelingless people. If we could really feel, the pain would be so great that we would stop all the suffering.
—Julien Beck—
Other people’s suffering is painful to us, but we have skins that protect us from the continual awareness of pain. We know that we are connected to all other forms on the planet; yet we are distinct beings who can disregard the sufferings of the torture victim, the slaughtered animal, or the starving child.
The thickness of our skins is good in one sense; it lets some of us be whole and happy in a world where many are not. But if it is too thick, we become callous. We shut out reality and pretend—successfully, sometimes—that everyone is as well off as we are.
It’s difficult to respond to the suffering of others in a balanced way. The Serenity Prayer can show us how:
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Much suffering can be lightened. Many decide to work, in some way, for the welfare of others. Our “feelinglessness” is only as deep as we decide.
My skin is a membrane that receives information from both sides. I will pay attention to both kinds of messages today.