Hello everybody. I hope the upcoming week is a good one for you and those you love.
Today I want to stress the importance of teaching children compassion. It’s usually very easy to recognize our own pain, but sometimes it takes a little experience or training to recognize when other people are dealing with it, especially when we don’t have a very close relationship with them. This is especially true for children. We can usually recognize the changes in behavior or mood of the people we are closest to right away, and we typically know how to cheer them up or encourage them through whatever struggle they are facing. Reaching out to them and helping them feel better is so rewarding. But what about the acquaintance, the colleague we aren’t very close to, or the classmate that might not be our good friend - do we reach out to them when we see that they are having a tough time? Many times, we don’t want to intrude on people’s privacy because we fear it’s not our place or we’d be told, “Mind your own business.” Of course, that could happen. But generally, when we approach people with true compassion, they can sense it. We never know how much impact a simple little compassionate phrase like, “If you ever need to chat, I am willing to listen” might make on a person, especially on someone who may feel very isolated and depressed. As adults, we can model this behavior for children, because as we all know, children learn more by what they witness than what they hear. But, also encourage them to reach out to those around them who are looking sad or disappointed and offer them a pat on the back or a little encouragement. If they are a little shy about approaching somebody, they can always write a small note of encouragement and leave it some place where that child or person could find it. They can do this anonymously if they wish; that option is part of one of the lessons I have in my workbook. Whether face to face or in a small note, the smallest gesture of compassion can create a long-lasting impact on a person’s life. I will leave you with this wonderful quote I read online by Steve Maraboli, “A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.”
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