Compassion Before Protocol:

The Rise and Fall of Human Kindness

Author: D. E. McElroy · World Christianship Ministries

Author Bio

D. E. McElroy is an ordained minister and the founder of World Christianship Ministries. He has spent decades serving couples and communities and curating testimonies of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs)—including a large public collection of first-hand accounts. His work brings together compassionate ministry, spiritual research, and accessible teaching aimed at helping people live with meaning, kindness, and hope.

Across many books and essays, he explores universal love, the role of Spirit Guides, lost and suppressed wisdom, and the moral choices that shape human history. His guiding principle is simple: compassion must come before protocol.

Copyright

© 2025 D. E. McElroy · World Christianship Ministries. All rights reserved.

You may quote short passages with attribution. For educational or ministry use, please provide credit and a link to the original source when possible. Do not republish the book in full without written permission.

Index

• Chapter 1: The Forgotten Commandment

• Chapter 2: Compassion in Ancient Spiritual Traditions

• Chapter 3: When Compassion Ruled

• Chapter 4: When Protocol Crushed Compassion

• Chapter 5: World War II as a Turning Point

• Chapter 6: Compassion in Modern Times

• Chapter 7: Why Humans Fail Compassion

• Chapter 8: Rekindling the Flame

• Chapter 9: The Future Depends on Compassion

• Appendix: Daily Practices & Study Guide

Chapter One: The Forgotten Commandment

Every generation faces the same choice: whether to let compassion lead, or to allow law, ritual, and protocol to rule in its place. The history of our world is filled with laws, creeds, and institutions that demanded obedience. Yet in the rare times when kindness took precedence over rules, humanity glimpsed its truest self.

Compassion is not weakness, nor is it sentimentality. It is the deepest expression of our shared humanity—the recognition that another’s suffering is also our own. Where compassion thrives, communities heal, divisions soften, and justice finds its balance. Where compassion is crushed by protocol, cruelty walks in, wearing the mask of order.

This tension is ancient. The Hebrew prophets cried out for mercy over sacrifice. “I desire compassion, not ritual offering,” they said. Jesus healed on the Sabbath when law forbade it. He touched the leper when purity codes warned against it. He spoke with the Samaritan woman when protocol told him to ignore her. Again and again, compassion overruled tradition. Yet in later centuries, the very institutions formed in his name burned heretics, tortured innocents, and silenced truth-seekers—all under the banner of rules.

And it is not only religion that falls into this trap. Political systems pass policies that protect structures while neglecting the weak. Courts can become obsessed with procedure instead of justice. Armies justify atrocities with the chilling defense: “I was only following orders.” Even in families, reputation is sometimes valued more than honesty, safety, or healing.

But compassion always survives. Even in the darkest hours, sparks of light shine through. Soldiers have paused gunfire to sing Christmas carols across enemy lines. Neighbors have risked their lives to hide strangers from persecution. Nurses and caregivers have chosen presence over paperwork, sitting silently at the bedside of the dying. Parents have sacrificed their own comfort for the well-being of their children. These moments remind us that kindness is the deeper law—one that cannot be erased.

This book is not simply about history. It is about the soul of humanity and the constant decision each of us must face: compassion, or protocol. We will walk through moments when kindness shaped civilizations, and times when cruelty was justified in the name of order. We will look at why compassion sometimes falters, and how it can be rekindled.

The commandment we keep forgetting is the simplest one: to love one another. Everything else—every law, every system, every ritual—was meant to serve that commandment, not to replace it.

Chapter Two: Compassion in Ancient Spiritual Traditions

Before nations, before modern institutions, before religions grew into great systems of doctrine and authority, the earliest voices of wisdom placed compassion at the very center of human life. These ancient teachings remind us that kindness is not a modern idea. It is woven into the foundations of spiritual truth.

The Hebrew Prophets

In the Hebrew scriptures, compassion is consistently placed above sacrifice and ritual. The prophet Hosea declared, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Micah asked, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Even when laws multiplied and temple rituals grew elaborate, the prophets called people back to a simpler truth: that kindness and mercy mattered more than offerings or ceremonies.

Jesus of Nazareth

When Jesus stepped into history, he reaffirmed this ancient command. His teaching that the greatest commandments are to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves distilled all tradition into compassion. His parables—the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son—lifted up mercy over protocol. His healings broke Sabbath rules, and his embrace of the outcast shattered purity codes. To him, compassion was not an exception to the law; it was the fulfillment of the law.

The Buddha

In India, five centuries earlier, the Buddha spoke of karuṇā—compassion—as essential to awakening. He taught that liberation was not for oneself alone, but for the benefit of all beings. His practice of mettā (loving-kindness meditation) trained followers to extend care not only to friends and family but also to strangers, enemies, and even animals. Compassion was the antidote to the poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion.

Hindu Traditions

Within Hindu philosophy, ahimsa—the principle of non-harm—stands as a guiding light. It asks that life be honored and that violence be avoided wherever possible. Alongside this is bhakti, the path of devotion rooted in love for the divine. Saints and poets of the bhakti movement sang that love and compassion were more powerful than ritual sacrifice, echoing the truth that hearts transformed by love are closer to God than temples filled with offerings.

Taoist Wisdom

In China, Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching lifted compassion as one of the three treasures of the Taoist way, alongside simplicity and humility. “I have three treasures,” Lao Tzu wrote. “Compassion, simplicity, and patience. From compassion comes courage.” The Taoist vision held that gentleness, yielding, and kindness were not weaknesses but the most enduring strengths.

Indigenous Traditions

Among Indigenous peoples across the world, compassion has taken the form of kinship. Native American teachings often describe the earth, plants, animals, and people as “relatives.” To harm them is to harm oneself. In many traditions, generosity is the highest virtue: wealth is not measured by what one accumulates but by what one gives away to the community. Compassion is expressed not in grand gestures but in everyday sharing and hospitality.

A Shared Song

Across these traditions, separated by continents and centuries, the melody is the same: compassion is the measure of true spirituality. Rituals and doctrines may differ, but all affirm that to love is to live in harmony with the deepest truth.

It is striking that while cultures disagreed about gods, sacred texts, and rituals, they spoke with one voice about kindness. The universality of this message suggests something profound: compassion is not merely a cultural invention but a universal law, written into the fabric of human consciousness.

This shared song of compassion forms the foundation of our story. It shows that long before institutions bent under the weight of protocol, humanity’s wisest teachers pointed to kindness as the higher path. Their voices still call to us today.

Chapter Three: When Compassion Ruled

Human history is not only a story of cruelty, conquest, and protocol. There have been shining moments when compassion rose to the forefront—when it shaped laws, communities, and even empires. These seasons remind us that kindness is not merely an individual virtue, but a force that can transform societies.

Ashoka the Great

In ancient India, Emperor Ashoka began his reign with bloodshed. After witnessing the horrors of war, he turned away from conquest and embraced the teachings of the Buddha. He established hospitals not only for people but also for animals. He built rest houses and wells for travelers. He engraved edicts across his empire that urged tolerance, kindness, and respect for all life. For a time, compassion became state policy, guiding an entire civilization toward peace.

Early Christian Communities

In the first centuries after Jesus, small Christian groups often practiced radical compassion. They pooled resources, cared for widows and orphans, and adopted abandoned children left to die by Roman society. During epidemics, while many fled the cities, Christians stayed to nurse the sick—even strangers. Their acts of mercy spread quietly but powerfully, convincing many that love was stronger than fear.

Monastic Hospitality

Throughout the Middle Ages, monasteries became centers of compassion. Monks and nuns offered shelter to travelers, preserved knowledge, and tended the sick. Some monasteries developed into the earliest hospitals of Europe, where care was offered freely to those who could not pay. In these spaces, compassion was written into daily routine, not as charity but as a sacred duty.

Reformers of Justice

Compassion has also inspired great movements of reform. Quakers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries worked tirelessly to end slavery and promote prison reform. In the nineteenth century, reformers like Florence Nightingale revolutionized nursing, bringing dignity and care to the wounded. Compassion was not only a personal virtue but a principle that demanded social change.

Everyday Compassion

Yet history is not shaped only by kings and reformers. Quiet acts of kindness have carried equal weight. A grandmother sharing food with hungry neighbors. A village healer tending wounds without payment. A teacher protecting a child from ridicule. These acts, multiplied across generations, sustained communities when institutions failed them.

Lessons from These Seasons

When compassion rules, fear loses its grip. Systems become humane, leaders think of the vulnerable, and ordinary people see themselves in others. Compassion turns enemies into neighbors and strangers into kin. These are not fairy tales but real chapters in our history, showing us that love can guide policy, culture, and daily life.

The challenge is that such seasons rarely last. Fear, greed, and protocol eventually push back, reclaiming their place of power. But these bright chapters remind us of what is possible. Compassion has ruled before. It can rule again.

Chapter Four: When Protocol Crushed Compassion

If compassion has at times lifted humanity to its greatest heights, there have also been long, dark periods when protocol—rules, rituals, bureaucracy, or obedience—was exalted above mercy. In these seasons, compassion was treated as weakness, and cruelty was justified as duty.

The Inquisitions

In medieval Europe, religious authorities claimed to defend truth by silencing dissent. The Inquisition was built on rigid protocol: investigations, trials, confessions, and punishments. To question doctrine was considered a crime against God. Countless men, women, and even children were imprisoned, tortured, and executed—not because they were cruel, but because they thought differently. In this way, protocol turned faith into fear, and love into suspicion.

Witch Trials

The witch hunts that swept through Europe and colonial America were another tragic triumph of protocol over compassion. Communities turned on their own neighbors, driven by superstition and sanctioned by law. A mere accusation could lead to imprisonment or death. Courts followed procedures, but justice was absent. Rules were followed, but hearts were hardened.

Colonial Conquest

Empires expanded across continents, justifying conquest and exploitation with official decrees and legal frameworks. Indigenous peoples were displaced, enslaved, or converted by force, often under the claim of “civilizing missions.” Entire cultures were dismissed as inferior because they did not conform to the conquerors’ protocols. Compassion for the dignity of other peoples was crushed beneath the machinery of expansion.

The Machinery of Bureaucracy

Even outside religion and empire, bureaucracy has often served as a shield for cruelty. Officials fill out forms, soldiers follow orders, and systems operate “by the book.” Yet this efficiency can strip away conscience. The phrase “I was only doing my job” has excused countless harms. When protocol becomes an idol, individuals surrender their responsibility to see the human face behind the paperwork.

The Cost of Obedience

The danger of protocol is that it numbs empathy. It allows people to distance themselves from suffering, to treat human beings as cases, categories, or enemies. When compassion is removed from the equation, rules become weapons rather than guides.

Sparks of Resistance

And yet—even in these times—there were those who resisted. Some priests refused to condemn innocent villagers. Some colonists defended native neighbors. Some officials bent the rules to save lives rather than destroy them. These quiet acts of rebellion remind us that even when compassion is crushed, it is never fully extinguished.

The Warning of History

The lesson is clear: protocol without compassion becomes cruelty disguised as order. When rules are treated as more sacred than people, suffering follows. History warns us that any system—religious, political, or social—can fall into this trap. The antidote is always the same: to remember that compassion is the higher law, the true commandment.

Chapter Five: World War II as a Turning Point

The twentieth century revealed humanity at both its most brutal and its most compassionate. World War II, more than any other conflict, stands as a turning point in the struggle between cruelty masked as protocol and compassion born of conscience.

The Triumph of Protocol in Dictatorships

The regimes that ignited the war were built on rigid systems of obedience. In Nazi Germany, entire populations were conditioned to follow orders without question. Bureaucracy managed mass deportations, and soldiers carried out unspeakable crimes under the justification of “just doing my duty.” Laws and regulations created a framework where genocide was not seen as murder, but as policy. Protocol had reached its most terrifying form—stripped of love, stripped of humanity.

The Machinery of Cruelty

Concentration camps were engineered with cold efficiency. Trains ran on schedule, records were meticulously kept, and guards followed regulations. Yet behind this machinery of order, millions perished. It was a stark reminder that rules, when divorced from compassion, can become instruments of horror.

Sparks of Compassion in the Darkness

Yet even in those years of terror, compassion shone through. Families risked their lives to hide Jewish neighbors in basements and attics. Diplomats forged false passports to smuggle refugees to safety. Strangers shared food in ghettos when they themselves were starving. These were not acts of protocol—they were acts of courage, born from love.

One famous example is the “White Rose” movement in Germany, where young students printed leaflets condemning Nazi crimes. They knew their resistance would cost them their lives, but they chose compassion over silence. Their courage continues to inspire generations.

A Different War, the Same Spirit

The most famous wartime truce—the spontaneous Christmas ceasefire where enemies sang carols and exchanged small gifts—took place in World War I, 1914. But the spirit of that moment carried forward, reminding us that even in war, humanity sometimes overrides orders. During World War II, smaller moments of compassion still appeared: soldiers sparing prisoners, sharing rations, or offering medical help across battle lines. They were not as widespread, but they carried the same message—that compassion cannot be fully silenced.

After the War: A Global Reckoning

The aftermath of the war forced the world to confront the dangers of blind obedience. The Nuremberg Trials established the principle that “just following orders” is no defense for cruelty. International declarations were written to protect human rights and dignity. These were imperfect beginnings, but they showed a recognition that humanity could not afford to repeat such horrors.

The Turning Point

World War II was not only a tragedy; it was a mirror held up to humanity. It revealed what happens when protocol crushes compassion, but also what happens when ordinary people dare to love in the face of fear. The war became a turning point, reminding us that the survival of our humanity depends not on rules alone, but on whether compassion is allowed to guide them.

Chapter Six: Compassion in Modern Times

The struggle between compassion and protocol did not end with the Second World War. Our own times continue to reveal the same tension: moments when kindness rises above rules, and others when systems bury the human face beneath procedure. The question remains: will we choose empathy or efficiency, humanity or bureaucracy?

Compassion in Crisis

Modern disasters—earthquakes, floods, wildfires, pandemics—have revealed extraordinary acts of compassion. Volunteers rush into danger zones, strangers open their homes, communities gather resources, and doctors and nurses work until exhaustion to save lives. In these moments, compassion is instinctive, cutting through red tape and hesitation. It becomes clear that empathy is the first response of the heart.

The Global Humanitarian Movement

The twentieth and twenty-first centuries have seen the rise of humanitarian organizations—some faith-based, others secular—that bring aid to refugees, protect children, and provide medical care in war zones. Groups like the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and countless smaller networks embody the principle that no protocol should stand in the way of urgent need. They show that compassion can be organized and sustained on a global scale.

Compassion in Daily Life

Beyond world crises, compassion continues in quieter forms. Teachers offer encouragement to struggling students, neighbors care for the elderly, and communities rally around families in need. Acts of forgiveness between individuals, sometimes after deep wounds, remind us that compassion is not limited to dramatic moments. It is built into the fabric of daily life.

Voices from Near-Death Experiences

In recent decades, Near-Death Experience testimonies have offered profound evidence that compassion is the truest measure of life. Many report encountering a light of unconditional love, where they are shown a “life review.” In these reviews, what matters most is not wealth, reputation, or ritual—but how one treated others. A simple act of kindness to a stranger carries more weight than a lifetime of protocol. These stories echo the universal teaching that love is the law of the soul.

When Compassion Struggles to Be Heard

Still, modern times also reveal how easily compassion is smothered. Bureaucracies deny medical care based on insurance codes. Nations turn away refugees because of paperwork. Technology can reduce human beings to data points, stripping away empathy in favor of efficiency. In the rush for order and control, the suffering of individuals can be overlooked.

The Reminder of Modern Times

Yet even against these challenges, compassion persists. It may be quiet and easily missed, but it continues to emerge in every culture, every generation, every crisis. Whether in a refugee camp, a classroom, or a hospital ward, compassion finds a way to express itself. It is the proof that kindness is not an ancient ideal but a living reality, still calling us to remember the forgotten commandment.

Chapter Seven: Why Humans Fail Compassion

If compassion is written into the soul of humanity, why do we so often fail to live by it? History and daily life reveal that cruelty and indifference can spread more easily than kindness. To understand how to rekindle compassion, we must first look honestly at why it falters.

Fear and Survival

Fear is one of the oldest enemies of compassion. When people feel threatened—by hunger, violence, disease, or insecurity—the instinct is often to protect oneself and one’s own group first. Compassion shrinks to a small circle of family or tribe, while outsiders are viewed with suspicion. This survival reflex may once have kept small communities alive, but in modern times it often fuels division and hostility.

Tribalism and “Us vs. Them”

From ancient wars to modern politics, humanity has drawn lines between groups: insider and outsider, believer and heretic, citizen and foreigner. Compassion is often limited to those inside the circle, while those outside are treated with indifference or cruelty. Tribalism is powerful because it appeals to identity and belonging, but it blinds us to the humanity we all share.

Pride and Ego

Compassion requires humility—the willingness to see others as equal in worth. Pride, on the other hand, whispers that our needs, opinions, or traditions are superior. Ego resists admitting fault or extending forgiveness. When ego governs, compassion feels like defeat rather than strength.

Systems that Reward Efficiency Over Empathy

Modern institutions—governments, corporations, even religious organizations—often measure success by productivity, profit, or adherence to rules. Compassion can be seen as inefficient, slowing down decisions or diverting resources. When people are treated as numbers, files, or “cases,” empathy erodes. Systems that reward obedience over conscience encourage people to turn away from suffering in the name of order.

Moral Fatigue and Numbness

Another barrier is exhaustion. The constant stream of bad news—wars, disasters, injustices—can overwhelm us. Faced with suffering on a global scale, many retreat into numbness, concluding that nothing can be done. Compassion fades, not out of malice, but from fatigue.

Personality and Power

Some individuals lean naturally toward control, competition, or self-interest. Narcissism, sociopathy, and authoritarian tendencies suppress empathy. When such personalities gain positions of power, they can shape entire systems that discourage compassion and reward cruelty.

The Choice We Face

These failures remind us that compassion is not automatic. It requires intention. Fear, tribalism, ego, and systems of control will always tempt us to choose protocol over mercy. But every failure is also a chance to see the cost of forgetting love. Recognizing why compassion falters is the first step toward reclaiming it as the guide of our lives.

Chapter Eight: Rekindling the Flame

If compassion so often falters, how can it be restored? The good news is that compassion is never fully extinguished. It is a flame that may dim, but it cannot die. It can be rekindled in individual hearts, in families, in communities, and even within institutions. The task is not to invent compassion, but to clear away the barriers that keep it from burning brightly.

Personal Practices

Compassion begins with the choices of individuals. Three simple habits can make empathy stronger:

• Curiosity: Instead of judging, we can ask, “What is this person’s story?” Seeking to understand softens harshness.

• Presence: To listen deeply, to sit with someone in silence, or to notice another’s needs is itself an act of compassion.

• Repair: When we harm someone, even unintentionally, a swift apology and an effort to make things right can heal more than pride ever could.

Practices like journaling, meditation, and gratitude can strengthen compassion the way exercise strengthens muscles.

Compassion in Families

Families are the first place most people learn love—or the first place they are wounded by its absence. When families set rhythms of gratitude, honesty, and forgiveness, they plant seeds of compassion that carry forward into generations. Teaching children to see dignity in others is among the most important legacies a family can leave.

Communities and Institutions

Compassion must also be built into the structures we live under. Communities can make kindness part of their culture—through volunteer efforts, hospitality, and support networks for the vulnerable. Institutions can run what might be called a Compassion Audit: asking questions such as, “Who is harmed by our rules? Do our policies serve the people they are meant to protect? Are the voices of the vulnerable included in our decisions?”

When compassion is written into policies—through fair labor practices, accessible healthcare, restorative justice, and protection of the weak—societies become more humane.

Courage in Leadership

Leaders, whether in politics, religion, or business, face constant pressure to prioritize protocol. Yet history honors those who chose compassion instead. Leaders who listen, who admit mistakes, and who protect the vulnerable leave a legacy stronger than any conquest. True leadership is not control—it is service.

Rekindling at Scale

At a global level, compassion is not naive idealism. It is a survival strategy. In an interconnected world, cruelty anywhere ripples everywhere. War, poverty, and environmental destruction cannot be contained within borders. Compassion is not only morally right—it is practical, offering the only path toward peace, justice, and sustainability.

The Call to Rekindle

Rekindling compassion is less about one grand gesture and more about steady, daily choices: speaking gently when angry words are easier, sharing when scarcity tempts us to hoard, protecting the vulnerable even at personal cost. Each act adds fuel to the flame.

The choice before us is not whether compassion exists—it always does. The choice is whether we will allow it to guide our lives and our systems. The flame is waiting. We need only tend it.

Chapter Nine: The Future Depends on Compassion

History has shown us both the power of compassion and the devastation caused when it is forgotten. Every age faces the same decision: will love guide our choices, or will protocol and fear take the lead? The future depends on how we answer.

The Law of the Universe

If there is one truth revealed across traditions, testimonies, and experiences, it is that love is not optional. It is the law of the universe. Near-Death Experiences describe a “life review” where each act of kindness shines brighter than wealth or status, and each cruelty is felt in the depth of the soul. Ancient teachers across cultures echo the same message: compassion is the measure of a life well lived.

A World at the Crossroads

Our modern world stands at a crossroads. Technology connects us across the globe, yet it also amplifies anger and division. Nations face crises of climate, inequality, and migration, where compassion will determine whether humanity unites or fractures further. The systems we build today—economic, political, and cultural—will shape generations to come.

If protocol alone guides those systems, we risk repeating the mistakes of the past: efficient cruelty, organized injustice, and the loss of human dignity. But if compassion is woven into them, we can build a future where technology serves humanity, where justice includes mercy, and where global cooperation protects the vulnerable.

The Legacy We Leave

The legacy of every individual, family, community, and nation rests on the same question: did we choose compassion? Empires crumble, wealth fades, and rituals change, but acts of love endure. A hand extended in friendship, a word of forgiveness, a sacrifice for another’s safety—these remain long after protocols are forgotten.

A Call to Action

The time to choose compassion is always now. Not someday, not when the system changes, not when it is convenient. Each choice in daily life builds the future: how we speak to a child, how we treat a stranger, how we respond to those who disagree with us. Small acts, multiplied across millions, determine whether the future is brightened by mercy or darkened by cruelty.

The Forgotten Commandment Remembered

This book began with the idea of a forgotten commandment—to love one another. In truth, it was never truly forgotten; it was buried beneath layers of ritual, bureaucracy, and fear. But love has always been there, waiting to be chosen again.

The future will not be decided only by laws or leaders, but by the everyday courage of people who put compassion before protocol. If we dare to live by love, we will leave behind a legacy worthy of the name “human.”

Appendix: Daily Practices & Study Guide

This appendix offers practical ways to nurture compassion in daily life, as well as questions for reflection and group study. Compassion deepens not only through inspiration, but through practice.

Daily Practices for Cultivating Compassion

• Morning Intention: Begin each day with a simple thought: “May my words and actions bring dignity to others today.” This sets the tone for choices small and large.

• The Three-Breath Pause: When emotions rise, pause and take three slow breaths. Ask yourself: “What would compassion do in this moment?”

• Repair Quickly: When you hurt someone, apologize without excuses. Ask what you can do to make it right. Quick repair strengthens trust.

• Gratitude Journal: Each evening, write down three acts of kindness you gave or received. Gratitude keeps the memory of compassion alive.

• Compassion Circle: Once a week, gather with a trusted friend or small group. Share needs and offer practical help. Listening itself is an act of compassion.

• Acts of Anonymous Kindness: Choose one small kindness each week with no expectation of recognition—leaving food for a neighbor, paying for a stranger’s meal, sending an encouraging note. Hidden acts train the heart to give freely.

• Extend Compassion Beyond Humans: Treat animals and the earth as kin. Small acts—feeding birds, planting trees, avoiding harm—are expressions of love for creation itself.

Study Guide Questions

These questions are designed for personal journaling or group discussion.

1. History and Compassion: Where have you seen protocol override compassion in history? What alternative paths might have been possible?

2. Traditions of Kindness: Which spiritual tradition’s teaching on compassion speaks most to you, and why?

3. Quiet Heroes: Who is a “quiet hero” of compassion in your life? What did they do, and how can you follow their example?

4. The Cost of Protocol: Have you ever witnessed a situation where rules or systems caused harm by ignoring human needs? How did that shape your view of institutions?

5. Personal Practice: Which daily practice could most help you strengthen compassion in your own life right now?

6. Community Audit: If your community or workplace conducted a “Compassion Audit,” what might it reveal?

7. Future Generations: What kind of compassionate legacy do you hope to leave for those who come after you?

Closing Reflection

Compassion does not require wealth, status, or special training. It requires attention, humility, and courage. By practicing kindness each day, reflecting on the lessons of history, and supporting one another in community, we can make compassion the guiding principle of both our private lives and our public systems.

The flame is already within us. It only asks to be tended.

WCM International Music Page     Sins Page     Animal Lovers Page     Our Earth Today Page     NDE-Near Death Experience Page