At Simply Great Lives, we feel that compassion toward other people is an essential characteristic for anyone who wants to make a difference in the world. Having said that…
Imagine there is a certain food that I love to eat. Actually, it has some addictive characteristics so that when I do not eat any, I feel kind of yucky. The only problem is, within seconds of just taking a bite, it gives me the world’s foulest-smelling gas. I mean these farts really stink.
So there I am, for example, waiting at the light rail station during the morning commute rush. I feel like munching, so I munch.
Crunch. Fart. Crunch. Fart. The smell is so strong, it is impossible not to notice it. One word: “Ew!”
Is it okay for my personal enjoyment to infringe on everyone else’s right to breathe fresh air?
Personally, I believe that my concern for the well-being of others and a basic awareness of how my actions affect other people should prevent me from making that choice.
So, I want to take this opportunity to encourage everyone to be mindful of the people around them. Let’s be aware of how the things we do are affecting everyone else.
Here are some everyday situations we may face. What’s the compassionate thing to do?
We finished our shopping. We’re in a hurry and the cart corral is a ways away. We can go ahead and walk it over or just leave it in the middle of the parking spot next to our car.
We are in a crowd of people and we want to have a cigarette. We can light up an old-fashioned cigarette or use an e-cigarette.
Something went wrong and we’re feeling grumpy. We can be grumpy with our family or we can choose to keep our emotions in check and deal with people kindly.
We receive a text while we’re driving. We could respond to it while we drive or we could pull over and then deal with it
Of course, given any situation, there are more than just two choices. So, when we face these kinds of situations, let’s consider our options and choose one that shows compassion.
