We’ve always been told to be compassionate towards others and how it’s beneficial. But why is compassion so important? Keep reading to find out.
WHAT IS COMPASSION?
Before we start discussing why compassion is important, let’s understand exactly what compassion is. According to Psychology Today, compassion is defined as “an empathic understanding of a person’s feelings, accompanied by altruism, or a desire to act on that person’s behalf.”
The University of Pennsylvania conducted a study on time affluence. They compared the time spent by four different groups –
- The first group spent time on themselves.
- The second group could actively waste time.
- The third group got some “extra” time.
- The last group was asked to serve others.
The result showed that spending time on others increased one’s feeling of time affluence. The small acts of compassion, where they actively helped someone else, gave them the feeling of having more time compared to the other groups. This shows that when you spend time helping others, it leaves you with a sense that you have more time, not less.
Compassion is when you relate to the situation someone is facing and want to help them. Whether you volunteer at an NGO, help someone cross the road, or simply hold the door open for someone, an act of compassion can be anything. Those unexpected gestures, like buying a cup of coffee for the person behind you or adding a couple of extra cans for a food donation. The key message here is that these are small gestures that are within all of our capacities.
Here is a simple way I practise compassion – If a patient is lying down on the bed, and I know they have back problems or hip issues, I hold out my hand to help them sit back up.
