Kindness is contagious!! Many of us feel instantly drawn to a person who stops what they are doing to help us when we are in need. Throughout my life, the people for whom I have been whole heartily grateful are the ones who have made a sacrifice for me. Sometimes these people are close friends and family members, but sometimes they have been individuals who have a love for humanity and genuinely feel compassion for those who are in need.

Compassion is a feeling of sympathy and sadness for another person.

Compassion is a characteristic that motivates us to make changes or to help an individual. There are several benefits to compassion, and it is directly linked to positively effecting one’s level of happiness and sense of fulfillment. Part of compassion is being aware of the struggles of others. According to Merriam Webster, the definition of compassion is “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.”

Sometimes, in a world that is primarily individualistic, it can be difficult to get outside of ourselves and not only see the struggles of others, but also understand those struggles.

Many times a lack of sympathy is due to a lack of mindfulness and awareness to the present struggles of life. It is very easy to go through life mainly thinking about what is required of us and not savoring the moments of life, the success as well as the difficulties. We often numb ourselves to those difficulties because they are painful to experience.

However, when we experience something painful, we are apt to dissociate, which essentially is stifling those important feelings and being inauthentic to ourselves. Until we truly understand what suffering is, we will not be able to truly understand compassion.

Practicing mindfulness can greatly help us become more in tune with the present.

That essentially means that we will experience the joys as well as the painfulness that a present moment can bring. Mindfulness can bring a high level of self-awareness, but it also brings a level of awareness of what others are experiencing. In part two of this blog series, we will discuss the benefits that come from being able to have compassion for others.

Chelsey Beauchamp, MS
cbeauchamp @ growcounseling.com