The Little Things
The dictionary defines compassion as sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings and misfortune of others. I define compassion as taking care of the people around you and standing up for what you believe in. It’s trying to be there and understand what that person is feeling, and trying to help them through what they’re going through. It’s staying up until four in the morning, talking someone out of suicide when you have an exam the next morning. Compassion isn’t about sympathizing people, it’s about being there for them when they need it. We have our days when we feel compassionate, and other days we need someone to feel compassion for us; but sometimes there’s no one there. Sometimes you have to be the person to pull yourself out of the darkness you’re in. Being compassionate is a wonderful thing. You can help someone, and then you feel your heart getting bigger. You start to feel better, and you start to care more. You begin to realize the benefits of being a caring person. Being compassionate isn’t always about staying up until 3 A.M. It’s not always about talking someone down off the edge, it could be anything that shows caring for another person.
Compassion isn’t about pitying someone. I’ve stayed up until four in the morning talking someone down from suicide, making sure they didn’t harm themselves. There have been people who stayed up all night just to make sure that I was okay. The next morning when they saw me they gave me the biggest and warmest hug, and said, I’m glad you’re still here. Sometimes that’s all you need to hear. Don’t be pitiful, help the people around you, you never know who needs it. You can be that person who saves lives, just by being nice. There are millions of ways to show compassion, not necessarily the cliche, “I’ll take a bullet for you.” But your words and actions speak louder than you think. Being compassionate is helping someone who dropped their books in the hall instead of just brushing past them and and giving them a look that makes them feel alienated.
There have been many times where I felt so lost, and felt like I had no one to reach out to. Then someone would come in and save the day. You could walk past someone in the halls or down the street and just simply smile, and that could make that person’s day. A simple smile is an act of compassion because you can change someone’s mood to a better one. It really is the little things in life that show you care and show compassion to the people all around you.
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