The historian Joseph Campbell says, "Compassion for me is just what the word says; it is ‘suffering with.' It is an immediate participation in the sufferering of another to such a degree that you forget yourself and your own safety and spontaneously do what is necessary." This definition reflects a sympathetic and empathic reaching out to others. Therefore, compassion is the strongest of all communal glues, adhered with the knowledge that our suffering (as well as our joy) is intimately linked to those same feelings in others; it brings us together. As one wise rabbi reflected, when it is very cold, there are two ways to warm yourself. One is by putting on a fur coat, the other is by lighting a fire. What is the difference? The difference is that the fur coat worms only the person wearing it, while the fire warms anyone who comes close.

If one's actions are in the service of the self, they bring plain satisfactions, and make one competent at whatever work one does. But if they are in the service of others, they bring a deeper exaltation. Our civilizations's egocentric, competitive notions of inspired actions make us miss their societal service. (Inspiration means simply "inbreathing of spirit," not "exaltation of the spirited.") Some cultures require their members to seek inspiration for the sake of society. Examples include Native American sweat lodges, peyote sessions, and dances, or Quaker meetings, whose members gather together to attend the appearance of the indwelling spirit. Integral to these rituals is the social philosophy that you can best serve yourself when you are in service of the others.