A New Way of Looking at Compassion
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
~ Dalai Lama
Compassion, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is a "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it." In other words, we want to help when we are aware of the suffering of others.
Thinking about the role of compassion in our daily lives, I am reminded of an organization that came to my attention recently. With a clever grammatical twist, they call themselves “Compassion It,” turning an adjective into an action verb.
As I explored their website and read articles about their activities, I was impressed by the impact they are having world-wide.
At the center of their practice is a wrist band that says, “Compassion It.” This is a gentle reminder not to react quickly in situations that usually elicit an impatient or unkind response from us. It creates the space for us to choose a compassionate response instead.
Our power is in that space. Typically, when someone triggers us, we think that the next step is our reaction to them., but there is a space between the stimulus and the response. Most of us do not realize that, so we don’t take advantage of it. In that space, we can choose a compassionate response.
The wrist band reminds us to bring compassion to all interactions that we find ourselves in. We are prepared for kindness, rather than a habitual impatient or unkind response.
The wrist band serves another purpose as well. It prompts us to look for chances to bring compassion as we go through our day. It may be as simple as offering a smile and a few kind words to a stranger. You may feel moved to stop and have a brief conversation with a neighbor or a co-worker, thereby strengthening your connection. You might expand the reach of your kindness by volunteering with an organization that is having a positive impact on people’s lives. The opportunities are limitless.
Compassion It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and global movement led by Sara Schairer and Burrell Poe. Their mission is “to inspire daily compassionate actions and attitudes,” and their vision is “a world where compassion is practiced by every person, for every person, on every day.”
Through their educational trainings and other tools, they are “empowering individuals and organizations to make compassion a priority.”
Workplace Compassion Programs
Compassion It workshops focus on all employees, introducing key skills such as self-compassion, boundary-setting, and active listening. Compassion becomes part of the company culture.
Their Leadership Program helps the company to develop more compassionate and effective leaders. “Compassionate leaders show true concern for their employees, they value connection, and they listen with an intent to understand. This creates trust, loyalty, joy, and collaboration within a team.”
Personal Development Programs
30-Day Compassion It Challenge
This easy to implement program offers 4 weekly lessons, each one focusing on a different aspect of compassion. The lessons are uplifting and easy to follow. Each one includes a video, interesting information and suggested actions to take during the week to embed the practice in your daily life.,
Many people have used this program in their schools, businesses, college campuses, and even in jails and prison yards.
Compassion Training for Busy People
This program takes an hour each week for connecting with others while you learn about and practice compassion and mindfulness. The hour includes brief lessons that cover the basics of the compassion training, breakout discussions and experiential exercises. It is followed by another half hour to continue the discussion.
The Impact of Compassion It
Sara Schairer and Burrell Poe have led compassion workshops world-wide for people from all walks of life, including inmates in maximum security prisons and leaders in big tech companies.
They and their staff have distributed over 190,000 wrist bands in 50+ countries on 6 continents and in all 50 US states.
The global impact is impressive, and the impact on individuals and their families, schools and businesses is equally important. As more of us become committed to living with compassion, our communities become kinder and gradually, the culture changes. The more we commit to compassion in our lives, the more we will notice it showing up around us.
And our lives will be transformed in the process.
We invite you to checkout their website
Please leave a comment below to let us know your thoughts on Compassion It.
I just love the action verb for compassionate with the wristbands to remind one and me to take that space before reacting to someone or something that has upset me.