Compassion

Compassion:  A sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. - Webster's Dictionary

I do not consider myself a very compassionate person.  I try.  I really do at times, but I get bogged down in the mess.  I have a very hard time feeling sorry for other people when there are ways that I can see to avoid the situations that were created.  A part of me feels like compassion enables these people to keep doing whatever it is that is creating their distress.  For instance, a compassionate person would not have texted the man "Seeing as to how you still have the ability to text, I  would say it is safe to say that your brain is intact", they would have been more sympathetic to his concerns about his brain. They certainly would have never suggested to web md the issue at hand.  Clearly, this is a virtue that I need to work on.

Here is the million dollar question for me.  How does being compassionate make you happier?  There are numerous studies that show that people who help others feel happier.  Volunteers are compassionate, as are nurses, teachers, counselors, and veterinarians.  And so I begin my own little journey of learning compassion.  It will be a tough one. I have had mixed reviews.  The man said "being compassionate may kill you...and I know that wasn't compassionate".  The besties were supportive yet skeptical.  My mom was not quite sure how this will work out.  If these reactions are not a huge indicator of a quality that needs to be developed, I do not know what is.  Now is not the time for tough love.  It is a time of being sympathetic to others and trying to help.

I am still not sure exactly where to start on this journey of learning compassion.  My mom suggested looking up the definition (which was a huge eye opener).  For now I will focus on being sympathetic to other's distress, and not make it worse.  This means sending more supportive texts, and responding with the appropriate amount of feeling and less sarcasm.  I am still not sure how good I will be at this, but it is clear to me that any improvement will be a vast one from where I stand now.