Cultivating compassion at the present time is one of the key soft skills of kindness that can transform your life, be it personal or professional.
Compassion and kindness are on of the most demanding qualities in this era of technological development, where all types of artificially intelligent agents claim to replace humans in one form or the other.
The question of why a person needs compassion in the present date motivates us to know more about it.
Beginning with knowing what compassion truly is. Compassion is the ability to feel others’ pain, keeping yourself in their shoes. Dalai Lama said, ‘Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.’ Ever felt the pain of an old lady standing on a crowded train, and with the compassion in you, it led you to feel pity for her to offer your seat to her? This is a classic example of compassion in you, followed by your emotions that led to your favorable actions.
Importance of Compassion
Showing compassion towards others not only advocates your humanity but also represents your part in society. When a person leaves their judgments and takes the choices and preferences of the person in front as normal, that displays compassion. We need to remember that each individual is uniquely valuable. Compassion can take any form with the following benefits-
Psychological Benefits
Getting a sense of leading a meaningful life
When you help a stranger cross the road while you are a part of the traffic, and the person gives you a thankful look, it gives you a sense of accomplishment. Or when you protect a child from bullies on the street, you play a role in empowering a life you aren’t linked with. Compassion gives you the power to serve others without the expectation of a reward.
Obedience to the law of Karma: “What goes around comes around”
Spiritual and religious people would agree to the fact that when you do good, you receive goodness in unimaginable forms. Did you ever notice how luck sometimes works miraculously in your favor when you are late to catch the train, but on reaching the station you get to know that the train is already delayed? Or when you go shopping for your favorite top, but the stocks are done, and the only piece left is of your size? That’s how the universe pays back to your acts of kindness done out of compassion.
Tackling Superiority Complex
When you help a person in need, you recognize how people are struggling with challenges for basic things that you already own. When you offer water to a thirsty beggar at the traffic signal, you show compassion.
Physical Benefits
Improved Mental Health
Compassion and kindness lower the feeling of being unwanted in the absence of material success. With the display of empathy, social relationships get boosted towards ensuring positive shared environments. It creates memories that last for long periods of time.
Improved Immune Function
Compassion and acts of kindness reduce stress and anxiety hormones with the release of happy hormones like oxytocin and serotonin which improves the immune system to reduce the vulnerability to diseases.
Social Benefits
Improved Relationships
Acts of kindness towards a person relieve them from the baggage of being judged for their choices and the pressure to fit-in the crowd. It empowers them to take risks in life to do what they desire. It thus acts as a motivation for the person to express and be what they truly are. It builds trust which is a foundation for a strong relationship.
Creates a sense of a Community
Acts of kindness provide emotional support, which builds collective identity and pride. When people come together to support each other, it creates a space with a sense of ownership and respect. It provides a base for inclusivity in diversity.
Different Forms of Compassion
Compassion and empathy can take various forms. To simplify it further, let’s divide it into the following-
Small Acts of Kindness
These include acts like holding a door for a person behind you, halting the lift door to reopen for a running person towards the lift, or passing a compliment to a stranger to make them smile.
Medium Forms of Kindness
These include acts like volunteering for NGOs, abiding by laws, and helping a friend in need. Helping with money or effort, everything counts.
Large acts of Kindness
It includes acts that involve taking the initiative out of comfort zones. Starting a community project to change laws or raising a voice against unfavorable societal norms for humanitarian causes, all amount to huge levels of acts of empathy and compassion.
Compassion and Transformation in Life
Cultivating compassion in your life transforms your mind, body, and soul’s way of leading life. Beginning to understand ourselves fosters resilience, self-acceptance, and inner peace. It also fosters social transformation on a community level, making it more inclusive, supportive, and resilient. It promotes social justice and equity. Compassion also has the power to transcend boundaries and unite people across cultures, countries, and continents.
Thus, compassion is not just a virtue; at its core, it is a basic human quality that has the capacity to cross boundaries and bring people together in our common humanity. By practicing compassion in our daily interactions and lives, we can effect positive change and create a world where kindness, empathy, and unity are the norm.
