Thursday, January 14, 2010

Compassion - Spread the Love

“Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tries, and a touch that never hurts.” - Charles Dickens

Being compassionate means being considerate of people’s feelings.

Life is full of disappointments. With so much pain in the world, it’s easy to create barriers to protect yourself from being hurt. You could become callous to others’ needs and withdraw into your own world. At the other extreme, you might fly into a rage when things don’t go the way you’d hoped. You may want to lash out at others when you’re frustrated. Either reaction builds walls between you and others.

Despite the inevitable hurts that you’re bound to experience in life, you can remain sensitive to others. Thoughtful people care about the impact they have on others. They don’t knowingly inflict harm. Instead, they control their reactions to make sure they don’t hurt the people around them. They make a point of being patient and understanding, rather than expressing anger or cruelty.

You can make it a habit to consider how your words and actions impact on those around you. Consider doing these things...

1. To the next person you encounter, say a kind or considerate word. It won’t take up much of your time, and your thoughtfulness will make a difference.

2. To a friend, do something that shows you care about this person. Your relationship will grow stronger.

3. To a total stranger, perform a “random act of kindness.” Then encourage the recipient to “pay it forward.” Compassion is contagious.

You'll be surprised at how good these acts of kindness will make you feel. Do them often, and they will become a habit.

3 comments:

Leslie Charles said...

Such an important topic to cover! In our hurried, worried world we sometimes feel too busy to stop and be kind. It's nice to remind people how little it actually takes to help others feel good about themselves.

Meredith Bell said...

It's true that being kind and compassionate have at least as great an impact on us as the person we're interacting with. I like your 3 suggestions - they're realistic and will help me be more conscious about ways to make my world a better place.

Johan Engren said...

Mr Coates,
Fantastic material on your blog. Thank you for sharing. I am an swedish exchange student studying business at University of Northern Colorado. In one of my classes we are learning about how to interact and brand yourself or a company in social media. Your blogposts' and sharing's have been an key brick in my motivation for my content and sharing and i like to tank you for that!

Your post right here goes along with my point i tried to make in a previous post: check it out if someone like:
http://alwaysmotivate.posterous.com/positivity-happiness-motivation

Thank's again Mr Coates