Compassion & Empathy


“Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. […] Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.”

– Pema Chodron

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.”

– Dalai Lama

“Our human compassion binds us the one to the other – not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learned how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.”

– Nelson Mandela

The work of creating a trauma-informed, healing-centered, and just society is not only political, but heart-based work. Acting with compassion and empathy allows us to connect with each other and in community on a deeper level and with vulnerability. Holding compassion and empathy at the core of how we do the work that we do allows us to hold space for one another, acknowledge the impact of our cumulative life experiences, and facilitate healing processes that serve as an energetic exchange through which we all give and receive strength. We believe, as expressed by the Dalai Lama, that humanity and to a larger extent, our world, cannot survive without a commitment to working, taking action, and living with full compassion and empathy.

Compassion & Empathy

Back to Our Values Page