Meditation is a practice that can connect us with all facets of reality - the good, the bad and the ugly. Rather than recoiling from the harshness and pain of the world we can bring healing by meditating on the pain and suffering of others. This type of meditation is also known as Tonglen meditation.
Meditation is a practice that helps us sit quietly with what is. Sometimes that means connecting with the pain and suffering of this world. We needn't recoil from tragedy. We can rather offer thoughts of hope and care to those at the center of tragedy. This practice is called Tonglen meditation. Tonglen is also known as exchanging self with other. You can hear Tibetan Master Pema Chodron talk about Tonglen here.