Importance of having Compassion

We experience the emotion of compassion when we are moved by the suffering of others. Therefore, it is an emotion that drives us to help the other in some way.

Put yourself in the place of others

Humans are social beings and we share all kinds of activities and experiences. The same time, we can also put ourselves in the shoes of others and understand the frustration or suffering they feel. We have compassion in a natural and spontaneous way, whether in relation to a person near and dear to us or in relation to a stranger.

Although our first inclination is oriented towards caring for ourselves, we cannot prevent the anguish of others from affecting us. This uniqueness is part of the human condition and theologians, philosophers and psychologists have reflected on it.

From a Christian point of view one of the beginning basic behavior consists precisely in loving the other as oneself and from the perspective Buddhist, it is affirmed that compassion is a form of empathy that is projected towards all

living beings. For some philosophers we have compassion when through imagination we project the pain of others onto us.

In the psychological framework, that person who does not feel any kind of compassion has a serious behavioral disorder. It should be noted that some psychologists consider that the different expressions of compassion lead to personal well-being and happiness.

From compassion to action

Compassion is not always experienced towards someone concrete, but it can be had in an abstract way, for example directed towards humanity as a whole. In any case, after sharing the pain of others, sometimes we have the desire to do something more. That something else implies going from emotions to facts. In this sense, there are numerous activities that imply a compassionate component: giving alms to a person in need, offer our free time as volunteers in a social entity, pay a fee to a humanitarian institution, etc Ultimately, each individual chooses how they channel their compassion.

Against egocentrism and narcissism

Someone is self-centered when his priority interest is taking care of himself. On the other hand, narcissism is a variant of egocentrism. Both human inclinations represent the opposite face of compassion. In fact, those who are compassionate stop looking at their navels and think of others.

It is a human predisposition that generates a return mechanism, because if we are understanding with the pain of others it is very likely that we are understood when we experience pain or suffering.

Image: Fotolia. Maxbol–Al Troin