I am compassionate

         Empathy and compassion can go hand-in-hand.  To be empathetic is to be able to take the perspective of and feel emotionally, how another person feels; while to be compassionate, there is a desire to help, due to those thoughts and feelings.  I am an empathic person, and a sensitive individual, but am I always compassionate?  I am a people pleaser no doubt, so a lot of the times I do want to help out.  In fact, I put a lot of my self worth in my ability to help others.  As other people pleasers know, this can be a damaging cycle to ourselves; so, I've learned how to say no.  At first I felt guilt when I'd say no to someone, even if my plate was already too full of other obligations.  It was in learning compassion for myself, that I was truly able to be more compassionate to others.

         A simple smile can be a compassionate act, for something as simple as a smile can act as a beacon and help pull a person out of a dark place.  More often than not, I think it is these simple acts of kindness that can have the biggest impact.  To be compassionate does not require some great gesture, it can be found in the smallest of moments.  It makes me wonder out of the acts of kindness I've recorded, how many of those were also acts of compassion.  Writing about compassion also makes me think of Kung Fu and its heritage of giving back to its community and the acts of compassion happening then.  Makes me realize that we are still very much fulfilling that legacy today in our school, and that fills me with a sense of pride.