Random Acts of Compassion (by Ruth Frankenfield)
People often ask about compassion, “Isn’t it the same as empathy?”
Empathy is the gateway to compassion. Its understanding how someone feels and trying to imagine how their situation might feel for you-it’s a mode of relating. Compassion goes a step further; it’s when we put empathy in action and reach out to help, to make a difference.
Research at the University of North Carolina offers compelling evidence that acts of compassion not only bring comfort to those receiving it but can also greatly enhance the quality of life of those who practice it regularly. Barbara Frederickson’s ongoing research strongly demonstrates that acts of compassion can increase life satisfaction, decrease emotional tension and migraines, reduce depressive symptoms, decrease bias toward others and even increase the gray matter in our brains
…and compassionate actions don’t always have to be big or life-changing
Place flowers under the windshield wiper of a parked car
Say “thank you” to a service member
Make a thank you sign for your sanitation workers
Offer to take someone’s grocery cart back into the store
Leave cookies out for your postal worker
Wave at kids on a school bus
Leave a bottle of bubbles at someone’s front steps Sweep your neighbors sidewalk
Forgive someone even if they’re not sorry
Check in on an elderly neighbor
Insist on taking your co-workers phone so they can enjoy a peaceful lunch
Leave time on meter for the next person
Leave an uplifting note or piece of candy in someone’s scrub jacket pocket
Do a chore for someone without them knowing it
Complement a complete stranger on their cool cane, purse or hat
Leave happy notes around the hospital or around town
Send a card to a service member
Pay the bill for the person behind you at the drive through
So….Spread a little kindness. Practice random acts of compassion. Bring some much needed healing into our world & into your own mind and heart.