Recently researchers have been investigating positive emotion and human strengths. They have discovered that kindness and compassion trigger health benefits, both physical and mentally.

We all go through though times -times when we are really pushed to our limits. Life is imperfect and one thing that is guaranteed is crisis. Sometimes we become obsessed with our own worries and we fail to see the worries of others. It’s nearly as if our own stress convinces us that our problems are the only problems that exist! We claims exclusive rights to being stressed. Don’t tell me about anyone else’s problems I’ve enough of my own!! Stress can eat away at our ability to be compassionate – compassionate towards ourselves and others. We nearly go beyond caring anymore about anything!!

Recently researchers have been investigating positive emotion and human strengths. They have discovered that kindness and compassion trigger health benefits, both physical and mentally. Not only is it nice to be nice but it is also good for you. An act of kindness (i.e. an act of compassion from the heart) releases a cascade of positive effects in the body. Over the coming months I hope to develop a separate page in this website to scientific facts about the benefits of compassion.

In the meantime we often engage in compassion thoughts – “God love them and what they are going through” etc. etc. Real compassion should not be confused with articulating empathy. Compassion is active – it is something we DO for the good of others and with no strings attached.

Today someone made contact with me to express compassion with me over a challenge that I am facing. This was a deliberate act of kindness – moving beyond unshared words of empathy to directly expressing them to the relevant party. It’s a lovely thing to do and it feels lovely too! We need to spread more kindness around!