Spontaneity and compassion mix quite well

Stephanie Bradshaw

Day of Compassion – July 12, 2013

         

          The first thing I noticed about devoting 24 hours to being compassionate is how  much I thought about it before my day of compassion actually began.  I resisted trying to plan different compassionate acts to do on my day because I wanted it to be more genuine, spur-of-the-moment acts of compassion.

          From the moment I woke up on Friday, I consciously made choices and analyzed my actions to determine how I could be as compassionate as possible.  Since my husband is out of town and we didn’t have class, the main recipients of my compassionate acts were my dogs and people on the bike trail during my morning ride.  (My dogs got a little spoiled that day due to my compassion!)

          The other actions that happened on Friday were ones I spontaneously thought of a way to be compassionate on the spot which I found were the acts that gave me the most happiness in return.  As I was taking out my garbage and recycling Friday morning, I thought about the garbage and recycling collectors and how they likely don’t get a lot of appreciation for the job they do in keeping our community clean.  I looked through my stash of cards and found a “Thank you” card that I wrote a simple message and taped on top of the garbage can lid for them.  When I heard the garbage/recycling truck outside, I smiled and just imagined a pleasant response from the workers just starting their day of garbage/recycling collection.  Made me feel so happy hopefully doing such a little act that could potentially make the day of another person.  (Plus, they likely got a little chuckle out of the card as the only thank you card I had happened to be a little glittery on the front and not very “manly” looking! J)

          The other truly spontaneous act of compassion that really made me feel good inside was waiting in line at the post office.  A woman came in with a large box and got in line right behind me.  As we waited, she asked me what time I had.  I reached into my backpack to get my tiny cell phone which acts as my watch to tell her the time.  She objected because it seemed like too much trouble for me to get it out, but I assured her it was no trouble at all.  When I told her it was 4:15, she said that’s what she had but she just wanted to make sure.  Considering the post office doesn’t close until 5:00, I was a bit confused why she would be watching the time.  After a few seconds of thought, I asked if she wanted to go ahead of me in line so she’d be helped next thinking she likely had somewhere she needed to be soon.  She graciously accepted and thanked me.  It didn’t likely save her much time, but it felt so good knowing just a simple act like that could help a person in some little way. 

          The other acts were all more common place as I do strive to be a compassionate person in my daily life.  But those “out of the ordinary” acts of compassion reminded me how good being compassionate truly makes you feel.  Now…my brain is swimming with more ways to teach my class how to be compassionate and truly getting them the opportunities to feel that same good feeling inside. 

Spider epilogue...the final act before going to bed on Friday was again a reflective act...as I was brushing my teeth, a tiny spider started crawling across my fingers as they set upon my sink counter.  Instinct took over and I shook the spider off.  Then when I was rinsing my mouth and the sink, the spider got in my water and was washed down the drain.  Normally, I'd not think much about it but I immediately felt guilty!  That was not the way I wanted to end my day of compassion!  This morning, I found another spider in my kitchen sink (what is it with these spiders near my sinks lately???) and carefully took a glass and a piece of paper to trap it and put it outside.  Does that make up for the little one on Friday?  :)