Compassion for others, Compassion for yourself

Hmm I’m not sure when, but I think over 2 weeks ago I started to see the word Compassion on Blogcatalog (a forum that I stalk hehe). The word compassion is intertwined with an individual, a man called Mr. Patch Adams.

  

Perhaps many of you already know a bunch about this kind & humble man, I on the other hand didn’t. I haven’t even seen the movie Patch Adams (just in case some of you wanted to point out that there’s a movie called Patch Adams hehe). So what is compassion? The general definition is that ‘one suffers with another’. You recognize and understand the suffering of an individual and you take action towards it.

Personally, I can get emotionally attached quite easily. Especially with kids. I can’t really stand suffering and if someone suffers, I try my best to help this person, but afterward it can me sad and I probably needs some time to process it. That’s why I’m not sure if I could ever be e.g. a nurse or work in a hospital in general. 

This is why I admire Patch Adams. I don’t think that there are that many souls on this world who has the amount of compassion that he has. He strives to help others without passing judgment, strives to ease their pain with compassion & love. This is what drives Patch Adams to make the world a better place. 

I’ve read a bit more about Patch and I listened to an awesome interview done by the lovely ms. AskCherlock. I find that the work of mr. Patch Adams is remarkable and I’ve huge respect for his beliefs and actions. I won’t go into much detail about the interview as I strongly advise you listen/read it yourself.

I’ve always believed that the highest reward is hidden in the simplest of gestures. A simple smile can brighten ones world completely. No need for money, no need for materialistic items. You already possess the ability to smile. This got me thinking. If you already possess the elements that one needs to show compassion, why is it so difficult? It should be effortless. That's why, I think that you also need to show compassion towards yourself. After all you are the one who takes action, who wants to make a difference. You need to be content with how you are, before you try to help others. Create a healthy starting point, be happy with who you are and stand for what you believe in. Again, this got me thinking.

Do you think that people are afraid if the answer to a better place is hidden in the simplest of things?

I think, in how society is built, it seems that there is no room for truly thinking outside the box. Well one might think that they are doing things differently. But when you pay close attention to it, one sees that it’s restricted in existing systems & rules. So for me you are not thinking outside of the box completely as one is still being led by something that’s already there. The mind of the human being is being clouded by e.g. materialistic elements,
One man is trying to bring more compassion to world, to let others understand that it isn’t that difficult or expensive in the end. For me, the most powerful actions are hidden in the simplest of things. I’ve experienced it myself, the power of doing a simple act. In my case it’s giving away drawings. It makes people happy, it makes me happy and because I’m happy I have more energy to do things for others again. It’s a never ending circle of positivity.

And that’s what we need. Rays of positivity in a world that’s mostly led by negativity.

Petition to declare May 15th International Day of Compassion
Interview transcript by the lovely Ms. AskCherlock: Part 1 & Part 2 
Listen to the actual interview
 
Want to read more articles regarding this matter, just visit BloggerUnite. Feel free to share your thoughts about this. You know I love to hear from you :D. Thanks for reading this slightly longer post and have a great start of the week.


Ps.: The drawings were for a mug design for a dear friend of mine, Mr. Nothingprofound!