Reflection Essay Sample about Compassion

A ten-letter word brimming with sensational meanings–compassion. Every day this word flows through society on account of one's actions. Compassion exists as a trait that many people acquire, and it reflects their internal psyche. The Merrian-Webster Dictionary describes compassion as a “sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it” (“Compassion”). Compassion reveals itself through various acts of kindness, thoughts of consideration, and by the feeling of concern towards someone. Humanity can only benefit from compassion and the effects of it truly improve the world. For me, compassion appears as a conventional form of human traits that society should pursue daily. 

Influences in my life have shown me a better understanding of what it means to be actively compassionate. The biggest role model for me and showing me such outstanding characteristics would be my mom. While growing up, I watched my mom as she showed sympathy and concern towards certain situations. My mom undoubtedly stepped up first when someone needed words of encouragement. If someone needs motivation because they are in a challenging situation, my mom would without a doubt motivate them in a positive and uplifting way. My mom's gestures to help those in crucial times prominently made me realize the aspects required to live compassionately.  

My grasp of what it means to be wholeheartedly compassionate broadens each day as I constantly walk-through various stages of life where compassion appears. For example, this season of basketball felt like a never-ending cycle of setbacks for me. Throughout the highs and lows of my athletic performance, my coach was always there. Whenever I was down on myself, he would offer words of encouragement and pull me aside to ask how I was doing personally. His willingness to present me with uplifting conversations about my daily life aside from basketball showed me he genuinely cared for my wellbeing and not just about my basketball performance. It was evident that he wanted me to be happy and succeed in life. The compassion shown towards me by my coach during a trying time had a significant impact on me. I then realized how important his actions and words were to me and how they widened my range of what it means to be compassionate and the diverse ways that people can show it. As I come across people who are struggling, I always feel a tug on my heart to assist them in any way possible just as my coach did for me.  

The word “kindness” can easily be a connotation of compassion. A speculator may say that kindness is merely the same as compassion, but that is not completely true. Compassion does not act as an exact synonym for compassion, but kindness is required in showing compassion, resulting in kindness as a connotation of compassion. For example, someone may be in class, and they ask to borrow a pencil. Letting them borrow a pencil would be an act of kindness but it would not be an act of compassion. People who are compassionate show genuine feelings towards someone and they care about their well-being. Showing compassion requires kindness, but compassion is not needed in kindness. People who exhibit compassion are mindful of others’ emotions. The word “empathy” demonstrates a close synonym for compassion. Empathy shows the relation to one’s feelings on an emotional level with a sense of understanding. 

Some people may argue with the fact that compassion can show a learned skill rather than a genuine characteristic and personality trait. People learning to act compassionately can be beneficial in many aspects of life, such as career opportunities because it will provide them with a better understanding of someone's situation and how to act accordingly. Contradictions of the theory that compassion can be a learned skill. The American Heritage Dictionary defines compassion as a “Deep awareness of the suffering of another accompanied by the wish to relieve it” (“Compassion”). This statement explains compassion as a “deep awareness” and having a “wish to relieve it.” Even though you may try to treat someone with compassion and learn the traits that go along with it, that is not the ‘deep awareness” that the second statement speaks on. Having awareness of a situation someone goes through and wanting to help in any way you can differ vastly from helping someone in a demanding time because that is what you have learned to do–not because you may want to. Although many people believe in the possibility of learning the quality of compassion, I believe that compassion should be genuine and not a forceful trained personal characteristic. 

Compassionate people are all around and many results of this take place each day. From being in the grocery store helping someone reach something, offering words of encouragement, giving a meaningful hug, giving no judgment, and motivating someone. Compassionate people are constantly putting others before themselves. Compassion starts internally and reveals itself externally. There are several diverse ways to show compassion: empathy, action, concern, and aspiration. Having compassion in all circumstances is difficult and it can require a lot of patience and A compassionate person is highly aware of feelings and emotions in the suffering times someone may endure, having compassion towards them is a good action to take. Having compassion could be needed in a variety of things.