The Research Behind Compassion

      

“We have the choice to use the gift of our life to make the world a better place--or not to bother”
-Jane Goodall

    With a blog focused on compassion, I came to the realization that I have yet to directly write about it. So what is compassion and why is it important? Compassion is the feeling of caring for and wanting to help others who are suffering. The tricky part is our society has made compassion a trait rather than a skill. Someone does something kind, or is more sensitive to someone else's suffering, and we say, "they have such an incredible gift of compassion." However, research supports that compassion is not a God-given value but rather a cultivated skill which places each of us at an interesting crux; will we choose to cultivate compassion?

    Perhaps the best examples are those individuals that have already made the choices, and by most standards, have succeeded in such cultivation. Take for instance, Dr. Richard Davidson, the Director of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds. In 1992, he was encouraged by the Dali Lama to integrate his rich understanding of neuroscience with creating a kinder more compassionate world. Since then, Dr. Davidson has become the leader in compassion research. His findings have indicated that through meditation training, engagement, generosity, and the hope of nurturing well-being in ourselves and others, we can grow in compassion exponentially. Perhaps even more interestingly, is that as our actions change, entire brain regions respond that increase i our ability to be empathetic and to experience more positive emotions. 

    Or what about the public figures we consider outliers that allowed compassion to define nearly all their actions? Mother Teresa, William Wilberforce, Nelson Mandela, Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Jane Goodall, Malala Yousafzai -- all of these individuals are standouts for their ability to feel the suffering of others and to do something about that suffering. At the same time, each of them has been referenced speaking about the incredible amount of effort it took to reach the level of compassion they have for others. Take for instance, Albert Einstein, who said, "Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty." Einstein describes being more compassionate as a "task"; if it was a task for one of the most intelligent men to ever live, consider what it means for us.

    It is in the struggle to become more compassionate, the tenacity it takes to work through the challenges we face, and the incredible truth that being compassionate is tough, that I find most inspiring. Compassion is a process-oriented ability. What wonderful power it is to know that to be more compassionate is simply a choice!