Voices of the Children
Compassion
I have a quote that hangs above my bed, it says, “Help your brother’s boats across and your own will reach the shore.” My mom wanted to hang it there to remind me to be good to my brother. He sleeps in the bed next to mine. This is an important quote. It is not just about my brother, I think it is about so much more. It is about compassion. It is saying if you show compassion towards others then you will feel better about yourself. You will have more respect from others and more trust from others and they will show compassion towards you.
It is easy to forget to be compassionate and to remember to show concern for others. It is easy to stay focused on just yourself and what you need and want. Yet it is impossible to exist on this earth without compassion. It is what makes us human. It is what connects us. And connection is the most important human need. Connection makes you feel like someone is standing beside you.
I try to be compassionate when I help my friends when they are having trouble with their school work. When I notice their frustration and I see their head down on their desk and they show defeat. I can help them by explaining how I did the work myself and we can work together. This experience really makes me feel good too.
I want to have a greater understanding of compassion. So I can practice it better. So many do not even know this word. I know the more I have a continuous flow of compassion in my life, the more I will feel like I am a part of my community and myself.
When I think of a compassionate world, I imagine a world with no war, with no conflict and with no confusion about who is right and wrong. In a world with compassion, everyone would have a home because people would actually think about homelessness. People would greet each other with respect and listen to each other. In this world of compassion we would care about sharing our environment with all the animals and wildlife. We would respect them and let them be. That is what a compassionate world would mean to me.
I am going to talk to my friends and family about compassion so that we can help the world and do our part in making our world a more compassionate place to live.