Nathalie Leiton

Nathalie was born in San Jose Costa Rica 1978; her roots are Spanish, Dutch and German.     She has lived all her life in Costa Rica and 3 years in the US. She has studies in Sciences Education with specialization in Bilingual Elementary and Preschools.
Has worked as a Teacher in Social Risk Schools of the Minister of Health in Costa Rica, also has worked as Spanish Teacher as a Second Language for several years. She has lived with all social class and can tells many experiences and learning’s about those people life’s.
All her life she has been interested in all the facts of poverty; that is  why one of the main reasons for her to participate in Belize Team July.

“I have strong desires of helping others and to create a development program for the people in need in my country; for that reason I decided to be part of IICDMICHIGAN to learn and give some of my own experience to others. I can’t tolerated injustice and I can’t be passive to other’s pain”
One day I received this letter and it changed all my perspectives, that is why I would like to share it with you all…
Dear friends,
During my many visits to different slums almost every day, I have lately been reflecting on the meaning of compassion, and I decided to share my thoughts on this subject with you in the sincere hope that you will be encouraged and also challenged.
It is hard to be compassionate because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely and broken. It means that we must enter into solidarity with those who suffer, and not attempt to find a quick cure for their suffering.
In order to be compassionate to our neighbors, we must stop judging them, stop evaluating them. We can then be free to become compassionate. Compassion can never coexist with judgment because judgment creates the distance, the distinction, which prevents us from really being with the other.
We can unconsciously classify people as very good, good, neutral, bad and very bad. These judgments deeply influence our thoughts, words and actions. Those whom we consider lazy, indifferent, hostile or obnoxious we treat as such, forcing them in this way to live up to our own views of them. These self-created limits prevent us from being available to people and shrivel up our compassion. A compassionate person is so aware of the suffering of others that it is not even possible for him to dwell on their failings, and allow hostility or dislike to dominate his heart. As we become compassionate people, we stand in solidarity with the brokenness of humanity and ready to reach out to anyone in need.
But compassion is more than virtue for an individual. Compassion as a core political paradigm suggests a political order that is life-giving, nourishing and inclusive. Therefore, passion for the well-being of individuals and passion about the shape of society go hand in hand. Because individuals matter, political structures matter, for political structures impact the lives of individuals to an exceptional degree. My ideal therefore combines an emphasis on compassion for individuals with a passionate concern for a just society.
This way of thinking has been submerged by individualism that characterizes much of modern culture. This dream, a politics of compassion and justice, a dominion free order, is social, communal and egalitarian. But the dreams we get from our culture are individualistic:  living well, looking good, standing out. The core value or ethos of our contemporary society is individualism. Our quest in our work, relationships, families, ambitions, organizations, often and our religious practices – is the personal fulfillment of the individual, however we define that fulfillment. Our ethos of individualism pervasively affects our political life. We argue that the reason the poor are poor is because of individual failings, not because of social and economic policy. The solution is individualistic as well. We recommend that the poor need to develop a work ethic and embrace family values. Antigovernment sentiment and the tax revolt also reflect the triumph of individual values over community values. We think we should not have to pay taxes for the well-being of the community as a whole.
Our individualism affects the way we think about justice. We emphasize procedural justice more than substantive or distributive justice. The former is concerned with the rights of individuals and the fair enforcement of rules (and the protection of individual rights is one of the glories of many political traditions), the latter with the question of what a just society is. The former is concerned with maximizing opportunities for individuals, the latter with a social vision centered in community and not just in the rights of competing individuals.
Our ethos and politics of individualism affect our economic life, generating a society with increasingly sharp social boundaries based on wealth. The growing gulf between the rich and poor is the result of social and economic policy, and the consequence is increased suffering and desperation among the poor and potentially grave consequences for society as a whole.
In this situation what might a politics of compassion and justice have to say to us? It is important to underline that compassion is not a ‘weak’ value, particularly in the context of politics. It does not mean simply ‘nice’ or ‘letting people off the hook’, never holding anybody accountable. The strength of compassion as a value can be seen by looking at the opposites: hatred, abuse, brutality, injustice; indifference, selfishness, self-righteousness, hardness of heart; racism, sexism, classism, militant nationalism and so forth.  To advocate compassion is to stand against these. Thus compassion is not a “weak” value that tolerates that everything.
The politics of compassion leads to advocacy of a different social vision. The politics of compassion seeks a life-giving, inclusive social order. The focus of a politics of compassion is the alleviation of suffering caused by social structures. It leads to minimizing social boundaries, whatever the basis for drawing them (status, wealth, gender, race, sexual orientation and so forth). It seeks to create social structures that are stewards of nourishment for society as a whole, rather than channels funneling benefits to a relatively few.
We can incarnate an inclusive and egalitarian social vision and be communities of compassion, negating the sharpest social boundaries of our time. We can raise consciousness about the way social structures impact people’s lives and about the contrast between compassion as a social vision and today’s dominant political ethos.Can we be committed to this different paradigm and live by a different imperative? Do we dare to say that social policies are central to becoming a more compassionate society? How large do we think the gap between the richest 10% of our population and the poorest 10% should be?  Is that a decision for the community, the body politic to make, rather than a decision to leave to the elites?
We are called to compassion not just as an individual virtue but to compassion in our political thinking. We may think that this dream takes us beyond history. But I am convinced that this dream is for history as well. It is a dream for this earth.
Dr. Kiran Martin

If you would like to respond to this reflection, please send an email to:
kiran.martin@asha-india.org

Amazing grace! (How sweet the sound)
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

Taws grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believed!

Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
It’s grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.

Mahatma Gandhi said:
“Be the change you want to see in the world”…