Obviously, we all need love. This post, however, is not about love, but about compassion and its complementary.
Compassion is when you see a person in misery and you begin to feel with her.
Compassion is when you pour your heart out, feel her pain and cry with her.
Compassion is when you you take the time to listen to, console and comfort her.
When does it happen?
It happens when you shift your focus from yourself to the others, when you make the time to stop, pay attention and take care.
Compassion is your empathic ability to respond to the needs of others and join them on their level to help them grow. Yet, compassion, is perhaps a moment too late. It is inspired by an outside event or a call.
What comes before that?
It is the very act of noticing the other person as she is, perhaps even at the peak of her strength.
Acknowledgement is about showing gratitude for her beaming attitude, praising her for diligent work, efforts or smiles.
Acknowledgement is about encouragement when the attitude, energy, mood or performance are still high (or at least not lacking).
Acknowledgement is about approval when things go well, when her will is strong so that she can go bravely through difficulties.
It is very important.
Why?
Because we all have a basic need to be heard, seen, acknowledged and understood.
A smile or a sign of appreciation can go a long way, much longer than you can imagine. Their actings have a cumulative effect. Gratitude and appreciation leverage support a person receives for her job, learning new skills or going through hardships. It is much easier to fuel the fire of motivation and keep her going than to overcome the inertia when she fails and stops.
Open your eyes and begin to notice.
Express what you value in the efforts of others.
Show appreciation.
Spread kindness.
Not this day only, but every day.
It’s never too much.
In compassion you recognize the sameness, the other person becomes a part of you.
In appreciation you recognize the difference, the individual power and uniqueness of the other.
Compassion is reactive.
Appreciation is proactive.
They make a lovely pair together. A dance between similarity and difference will help you to flourish and grow.
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Kindness and appreciation. A great book on kindness is Why kindness is good for you, by David Hamilton. Highly recommended.
Compassion. You may listen to a short talk on compassion by Daniel Goleman, the author of Emotional intelligence:
[youtube]http://youtu.be/r3wyCxHtGd0[/youtube]
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