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The Key to Compassion
Are you tired of feeling so much anger and hate?
When we think of compassion, we imagine people devoting their lives to charities and other causes. We imagine people selflessly giving up their hopes and dreams to act solely for the good of others. We see compassion as a big, heroic act.
But, is it?
I’d bet that in the not-so-distant past, you acted compassionately. After all, compassion is simply the emotion that, in the presence of suffering, creates a desire to help. Maybe you felt the desire to help a colleague with a computer issue you knew how to fix. Maybe you felt the desire to help your spouse prepare for a presentation she was stressed out about. Maybe you called your friend to chat after he texted you about a relationship problem.
These motivations to help were fuelled by compassion. And no one would call them “heroic.”
Still, we tend to think of these types of actions as, at least, a sacrifice. When we help others, don’t we forego a potential benefit to ourselves for the sake of providing a benefit to them? Like, instead of helping your elderly neighbor clean the snow off her walkway, you could have relaxed on your couch and watched your favorite show. On the surface, it seems easy to judge which is more enjoyable.
