Random Acts of Compassion (by Ruth Frankenfield)

   

 

Micro moments of kindness, compassion & other forms of positivity nourish your mind, wisdom and longevity

 

 

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.