Loving Compassion, 1000 Voices Strong

I know, I know, I'm supposed to be unplugged digitally and plugged in to the great outdoors. It's what I said I was going to do for a few weeks, take a break from blogging. And I promise I resisted joining #1000speak ALL day yesterday, but I just couldn't ignore that one final plea to collaborate with these 
amazingly-compassionate cyberspace colleagues.
To make the world better. 

So today while John's out with friends and Joshua's competing at Science Fair, I'm delighted to be linking up to bring some thoughts about compassion your way. Click the graphic to read what others know, feel, and are doing to create compassion ripples in their respective corners of the world.

So what do I know about compassion? The way I see it, compassion nicely parallels the affective domain of character:

First, we must know the good, and that starts with an understanding which, to me, parallels that glorious virtue of empathy. If we can know what one another is going through, know what they need, know how they want to be treated, or know how certain values look, sound, and feel, then we're well on our way to cognitively getting character.

Compassion is the piece that allows us to move from the brain to the heart, to embrace what we understand and know. It allows us to feel the good. An online definition that I found says that compassion is concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others; a second source added that this concern is accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. That's where love comes in, it's that strong desire to take away the pain, to share the burden, to make things better.

And when we love or embrace something, we want more of it. So we intentionally seek it out. From the affective, then, we move forward then to the behavioral so compassion becomes more than just a feeling, it becomes an action, one that we call kindness.

And when kindness ripples ... prepare to get wet!

That's what the #1000speak campaign is all about, that ripple effect. A combined effort, 1000-plus bloggers strong. Writers who are passionate about changing the world, working together to make it happen, one drop at a time. To create an awareness that will ripple goodness out and make life better, 

for today and for all of our tomorrows. 

This Steven Caldwell compassion clip really spoke to me:

Source: You Tube

Lean on me, when you're not strong.

I like that.

Because together is better.

If you want more info on being intentional about compassion, check out Making Compassion A Verb. Read about how compassion helps healing in Mogie: The Heart of the House {here}. Watch Knit One, Save One and experience my third-grade knitters sharing compassion one stitch at a time as they craft to help reduce the infant mortality rate. Check out the Foundation For A Better Life's Pinterest page. And take care to always avoid Compassion Fatigue by being kind to yourself, too.

Imagine if you can a life of compassionate connections ...