“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” ― Dalai Lama XIV, The Art of Happiness. This quote said by the Dalai Lama has a great meaning to it. Most just see compassion as another word in this world, when it’s so much more than that. Compassion bring people together, makes the world a better place, and most importantly allows you to connect with others. Compassion is necessary to the human experience because it keep the world emotionally connected.
With compassion, people come closer together. Compassion provides love and without this emotion, humans would be isolated from one another. Love would not be considered love without compassion. It distinguishes a human from being heartless to one who cares for people other than themselves. Being compassionate leads a person away from a path of selfishness and builds strong relationships with others. The following authors did a great job of demonstrating this.
Tacitus states in his text, “The Burning of Rome,” that, “Nevertheless, for the relief of the homeless, fugitive masses he threw open the Field of Mars, including Agrippa’s public buildings, and even his own Gardens. Nero also constructed emergency accommodation for the destitute multitude. Food was brought from Ostia and neighboring towns, and the price of corn was cut,” (Tacitus, 408.) Nero taking action after the destructive fire shows him demonstrating compassion toward the people of his town. This action would help Nero build connections with his people, Nero did this for the good of the town. Without Nero demonstrating compassion, the whole city of Rome will continue to fall apart, and will never be repaired.
Li Po, the author of the text, “River Merchants Wife,” w...
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... road so far—farther than I can guess. His spirit came back where the maple groves are green, then went back, leaving me in borderland blackness.” (Tu Fu, 264.) This quote is showing how Tu Fu had compassion for Li Po as he entered his life again, but when Li Po left, he was left in sadness. Li Po showed no compassion toward Tu Fu, leaving him in a state of depression. The quote is showing compassion is necessary because without it, nobody would be happy.
These authors above included these specific parts of the texts to bring the story together. The texts will be completely different without compassion being present in, “The Burning of Rome,” “River Merchants Wife,” “Things Fall Apart,” and “Dreaming of Li Po.” Compassion is necessary to the human experience for multiple reasons; compassion brings people closer, makes the world a better place and keeps people happy.
The definition of compassion: sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others. As this definition shows compassion shows concern for other that every person would love to have. In The Chosen written by Chaim Potok, Mr. Potok really presents compassion in his book. Not only does he display compassion in one of his character but in every single one he gives them compassion that is expressed in different ways. He goes into detail example of compassion with each of his characters and really emphasizes the true meaning of compassion.
“Compassion is always, at its most authentic, about a shift from the cramped world of self-preoccupation into a more expansive place of fellowship, of true kinship.” These words come from the book Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, written by Gregory Boyle, an American Jesuit priest and founder of Homeboy Industries, an organization that provides employment training and support to former gang members. I was first introduced to Father Boyle’s work during my final semester at College of the Holy Cross in “Contemporary Christian Morality”, a favorite course of mine that examined the fundamental ethics of moral agency, human freedom, conscience, sin, suffering and virtue. It was a book that has continued to stay with me for
Anybody who reads “A Crime of Compassion” can easily find it very emotional. I believe the pathos plays a very important...
In our world, I see many people that lack the ability to show compassion. They can be so selfish when they should be more selfless. Even I admit it, I am selfish sometimes and don't help others when they may need it. For this reason, I believe that compassion should be a human right. Many people will see a person or an animal in distress and think, “I don't need to help them; some other generous person will.” But in most cases, nobody ends up helping the distressed person or animal because every person thinks “it’s not their job to help” or “somebody else will do it.” I believe a right of compassion will make it human nature to help others without second
The two essays “On Compassion” and “This is Water” by Barbara Ascher and David Wallace argue their different viewpoints on both compassion and empathy. While Ascher simply argues that compassion is not a simple character trait but more so a skill acquired overtime; Wallace tries to convince his audience that humans are preprogramed to be motivated by their own selfish desires and must reprogram themselves to think out of sympathy and concern for others. Barbara Ascher’s, essay, “On Compassion,” compels the audience to interpret the compassion and empathy with their underlying definitions. Ascher states “I don’t believe that one is born compassionate. Compassion is not a character trait like a sunny disposition.
Compassion has became something rare in our society, and something that a lot of people lack. The author, Barbara Lazear Ascher, explains to us that compassion is not a character trait, but rather something that we learn along the way with the help of real life situations we encounter, such as the ones she encountered herself. Ascher persuades her audience that compassion is not just something you are born with by using anecdotes, rhetorical questions, and allusions.
Nobel Peace Prize winner, Desmond Tutu, once said “frequently people think compassion and love are merely sentimental. No! They are very demanding. If you are going to be compassionate, be prepared for action” (values.com). When one thinks of compassion, sympathy and sorrow come to mind. However, compassion also is accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. This can be accomplished by standing up for what one believes is right. Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee deeply develops her theme that compassion is understanding someone else’s perspective and using this compassion to stand up against society.
In the story On Compassion, the author, Ascher, explains how no one is born with compassion and must be taught it. A homeless, black man was staring at a women’s baby in the stroller and she offered him a dollar. At first he was hesitant to take it, but eventually did. Later another man walks into an overpriced coffee shop in which the store owner handed him a bag with food. Ascher makes the readers question whether these were acts of fear, pity, or just simply out of the good of heart.
Title Compassion fatigue According to Taylor (2008) the definition of nurse comes from the meaning of the Latin word nutrix, which means “to nourish”. Nursing has a focus on caring for every patient physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. To meet the needs of every patient, nurses must take on many roles, but the main role is care giver (Taylor, 2008, p.14). Caring for another person requires many traits, and the most common is compassion.
One character that shows compassion and forgiveness is Lucy. Mr. Tumnus was very sad and Lucy tried to cheer him up. Then when Mr. Tumnus tries to kidnap her and says he’s sorry, Lucy forgave him. This shows compassion because Lucy tries to cheer Mr. Tumnus up when he is really sad. This can relate to my life because usually
She says he has “gray, bushy eyebrows” and smells of “stale cigarettes and urine” (Asher 41). Apparently his urine scent takes over the small, overheated room. Instead of being kicked out, the owner of the shop approached him with a steaming coffee in a Styrofoam cup and small bag of an unidentified offering. He accepts the offer and leaves the café. This details a common value of compassion at its finest. At the end of the essay, Asher implies that true compassion is learn through “adversity that becomes sofamiliar that we begin to identify and empathize with it” (Asher 42). The author believes one is not born with compassion but is felt after experiences and learned.
Kenneth Schwartz was a health-care lawyer who had only been exposed to the business side of healthcare. It was not until he was diagnosed with lung cancer that he would experience another role in healthcare, being a patient. The battle he was up against would not only be physical but also emotional. In the end, Schwartz lost his battle against lung cancer just under a year of being diagnosed. The one thing he repeatedly emphasized was the empathetic acts of kindness the caregivers bestowed upon him. Cancer to him was not just about physically beating the cancer, it was for his well-being as a whole ,and his desire to stay intact through out the process. He may have lost his battle with cancer but the care he was provided kept him hopeful and optimistic until his untimely passing. Compassionate care should be a staple for all healthcare providers. It can improve outcomes of health, increase the satisfaction of the patient, and aid in better adherence to recommendations from the caregivers. Patients should never feel they are being rushed, that they are not important, or that they are not receiving the best provision of care possible.
What is compassion? It has two components. One component of compassion means to put yourself in another person’s shoes, and ask yourself, What if I were that person? How would I feel? So, compassion means to develop an awareness of the suffering in another person. Another component of compassion is self-compassion, having compassion doesn’t always have to be putting everyone else before you, sometimes compassion can mean putting yourself first. Throughout generations, compassion has played an important role in many people, it’s a natural instinct within all of us. We show compassion towards our loved ones, when confronted with someone in pain, we
Radey, M., & Figley, C. R. (2007). The social psychology of compassion. Clinical Social Work Journal, 35(3), 207-214.
Compassion cannot be confided to just a feeling or emotion of empathy, or the antidote to pleasure of peace. Compassion is a vehicle to improve one’s being, physically, mentally and emotionally. Even without the desire to reach Buddhahood, everyone can benefit from employing and expressing compassion as it is one of the few things one can do that benefits oneself as much as others.