Accepting and Appreciating Compassion

   This past week’s news mentioning compassion contains many examples of individuals and communities looking for ways to practice compassion on a daily basis. It also contains a fair share of people pointing out how politicians are not practicing compassion in their proposed cuts to social safety nets, disaster relief and continued involvement in wars.

   However, one particular article that appeared in “The Pine Log” newspaper out of the Texas Stephen F. Austin State University addressed “The necessity of compassion and being ‘nice’” (http://www.thepinelog.com/the-necessity-of-compassion-and-being-nice-1.2611501).

  The author, Chidinma Nebo’s premise is that it feels good when people are nice and act with compassion by helping people who are in need of help. She lauds helpful cashiers, patient phone tech support people, considerate drive-through workers, and librarians who go above and beyond to assist in a research project.

   One might succumb to the cynical viewpoint that they have encountered more “bad” helpers than “good” helpers in their days of checkout counters, phone support staff, and drive-through cashiers. But instead of dwelling on the instances of imperfection, how difficult would it be to notice instead the moments of “compassionate grace” that cross our paths?

   In our individualistic culture it’s all too easy to pull away from an offer of help, proclaiming “I can do it myself”, as if another’s offer of help is a veiled insult of our capabilities.

   But let’s try looking at this person’s desire to be of assistance from a different perspective.

   What if accepting help was actually a compassionate act in and of itself?

   The person who offers to help me may have had a fight with a spouse, and their lending a hand could help them feel better about themselves as they prepare to go home and apologize.

   The neighbor who shows up to carry a heavy grocery sack in from the car may be feeling lonely and useless, and by allowing them to help you are helping to relieve their suffering.

   The old woman who lets you get in front of her at the post office might want to prolong her time out among people, fending off her dread of an empty house.

   What this illustrates to me is that the daily practice of compassion can be easier than I ever imagined. So on days when my personal energy level is low and I don’t think I have it in me to go out and be a model of compassion, there are compassionate options.

   In addition to first causing no harm, accepting another’s offer of help, in itself, could very well be the most important act of compassion I may practice today.

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   To read about living a compassionate life, and myriad ways of perceiving compassion, go to: www.CompassionSpace.com.