Compassion.

As a social worker I have watched really successful people in their careers and the one common aspect they hold in their lives is their compassion for people and their generosity with their time because of their commitment towards this.

In our busy culture we have been told that success means working hard and that this is a reward in itself. Now, I appreciate that working hard is a good thing however when one sees rewards simply from a monetary basis, then I feel that the pendulum has perhaps swung too far in the wrong direction. One hears of people with huge riches and their misery as a result of indulgence in the wrong areas, instead of investing in people lives.

This, of course, brings me to my central theme, namely the power of compassion and the way it influences lives. As I love history, I once red about a German fighter pilot in World War 2 who came upon a lone American B17 bomber and as he prepared to shoot it down, he noticed that it was not firing at him, getting closer he saw that the gunners were wounded and that the plane was riddled with holes. He somehow motioned to the B17 pilot that he was going to escort him back and he did, until once over the North Sea and approaching England, he turned back to his fighter base. One can only wonder at his reception once he informed his superiors of his actions! As a result of these actions though, many of the B17’s crew survived the war and, eventually after many years, the B17 pilot met his former enemy and they became close friends. Pictures were exchanged of their children and grandchildren and hopefully they are still in contact with each other. Such is the power of compassion.

It’s amazing what one comes across by chance and as I was walking towards Parramatta Mission last week, I was given a magazine with an article in it from Emma Seppala. She wrote a book called ‘The Happiness Track’ in which she says, “the best kept secret to happiness is to be of service to others” and that “cultures characterised by kindness, respect, empathy, support and mutual understanding lead to better outcomes for everyone. “

I find it intriguing that so called ‘helping professions’ such as social work, teaching, counselling, psychologists, doctors, nurses and ambulance staff have a great chance of ‘burning out’ in the course of their work and this led me to thinking about how much we give out on a daily basis to others and how little time we spend on recharging our batteries and where we recharge our batteries from. I don’t want to wax philosophical here however I do want to encourage people who read through this to take time out for them-selves and to consider how we encourage those around us.

Sometimes a kind word, spending time to really listen to another person’s concerns or praise for good work done could be just want that person needs as they, like us, at times struggle with grief, pain or trying circumstances at home.

Perhaps, like the Good Samaritan in the Bible, showing one’s heart by one’s deeds is the way forward for us all.