Voices of the Children
Teresa Barros Bailey
A Compassionate Lifestyle
All around me today, most all I see are wars, stealing, starvation, homeless people, and no hope left in the world. Those are most of the bad things, but sometimes I also forget about the good things like love, hope, happiness, dedication, and perhaps the most important – compassion. It fills me in a way that nothing else can.
When I walk down the street and trip on uneven cement, or something like that, and a stranger helps me up, that’s compassion. It sends me home with a tingly feeling of happiness. It makes me feel like part of a big family. Or, maybe I am the person that helps someone up. It makes me feel like I did something good for the world.
One of the biggest ways I see compassion in my life is by giving. All of us think, “Oh yea, big deal, I gave away some clothes and toys.” But, it is a big deal. I am giving away part of myself to someone in need of that sequined pink shirt, or those cute pari of jeans. And, who knows, maybe some day I’ll be driving to the grocery store and I will see someone wearing my favorite t-shirt with a beaded flower on the front. Even if I don’t have something to give I still have good things to say and a great smile. I feel good inside like I just swallowed a cup of my Nana’s homemade apple cider. But, I didn’t. I just swallowed a cup of sizzling hot compassion.
I once read in a story, that a girl found out that her school was getting new desks and putting the old ones in storage. This girl had read in the paper that schoolgirls in Iraq didn’t have desks. So, the girl got the help of tons of people and had the desks donated to the schoolgirls in Iraq, and throughout the world. That, to me, is one of the biggest types of compassion – giving things to people who I don’t know shows compassion beyond most things. It shows not only that I care about the world, but also that the world cares about the world.
My community, Hidden Springs, has a tradition. When we hear that a neighbor has had a bad week, or lost a friend or family member, the community gets together and makes a dinner for that family. That is a good example of ways to show compassion around my neighborhood.
For me, the main way of showing compassion is by making friends with others, like kids with disabilities. There’s a wonderful new student, Kendal, in my class who cannot speak. Sometimes we may think, “Oh, she’s dumb, she can’t hear.” Or, “He’s weird, he can’t see.” But, kids with disabilities are not weird or dumb. They’re kids just like me. They’re great kids once you get to know them. They can be fun, creative, dramatic, and thoughtful just like you and me. They’re just different.
If you are ever feeling down in life, remember there is always hope. Always add a pinch of hope into that cup of sizzling hot compassion.