Most people think of self-compassion as soft and gentle, but self-compassion can be fierce as well as tender. Tender self-compassion involves “being with” ourselves in an accepting way: comforting ourselves, reassuring ourselves that we aren’t alone, and being present with our pain.
What is the real meaning of compassion?
“to suffer togetherCompassion literally means “to suffer together.” Among emotion researchers, it is defined as the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another's suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering. Compassion is not the same as empathy or altruism, though the concepts are related.
What is the biblical definition of compassion?
To have compassion means to empathize with someone who is suffering and to feel compelled to reduce the suffering. It's a fuller, truer definition than feelings alone, and it's a very biblical understanding.
How is compassion different from empathy?
With empathy, we join the suffering of others who suffer, but stop short of actually helping. With compassion, we take a step away from the emotion of empathy and ask ourselves 'how can we help? '.
What is the difference between mercy and compassion?
Compassion can be defined as pity or concern. Hence, being compassionate is when an individual shows concern or pity towards another. Mercy, on the other hand, can be defined as forgiveness shown towards someone. Being merciful is when an individual shows mercy or gives relief to another from suffering.”
What are the 3 types of compassion?
Ekman has coined the term compassion joy.familial compassion: compassion we have for a family member who is suffering. ... familiar compassion: compassion for people we have some form of relationship with. ... stranger compassion: compassion for people we do not know.More items...
What are 3 examples of compassion?
Giving up a seat to a pregnant woman, being polite to retail workers, helping your friend move, taking a second to listen at work — compassion takes many forms.
Is compassion a skill or quality?
Compassion is a leadership skill that is essential for obtaining workplace success, as it can help us make tough decisions, earn the trust and respect of our coworkers, create a positive work environment, and show our team members that we care about their wellbeing.
Is compassion an emotion or trait?
From the perspective of evolutionary psychology, compassion can be viewed as a distinct emotional state, which can be differentiated from distress, sadness, and love. Compassion as a synonym of empathic distress, which is characterized by the feeling of distress in connection with another person's suffering.
Is compassion natural or learned?
The answer is definitively yes, compassion is both innate and can be learned and enhanced.
What is God's symbol of compassion?
Today, St. Brigid's Cross is used as a symbol of compassion, and also of hope…it represents the eternal nature of the human spirit, which endures beyond death, into the afterlife…
What are the three benefits of compassion?
There are numerous proven benefits of both self-compassion and compassion toward others, such as increased happiness, improved medical outcomes, reduced stress, reduced psychopathology, and increased social connectedness.
Can you have mercy without compassion?
Mercy and compassion do not always go together. One can show mercy without feeling compassion. A judge can show mercy by offering a more lenient sentence because he feels great public pressure to do so, not because he necessarily feels compassion for the defendant.
What is God's symbol of compassion?
Today, St. Brigid's Cross is used as a symbol of compassion, and also of hope…it represents the eternal nature of the human spirit, which endures beyond death, into the afterlife…
What Scripture talks about compassion?
2 Corinthians 1:3-4. 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
What are the three benefits of compassion?
There are numerous proven benefits of both self-compassion and compassion toward others, such as increased happiness, improved medical outcomes, reduced stress, reduced psychopathology, and increased social connectedness.
How will you respond to this gift?
God offers all of us this gift. But we all have the ability to reject it by the way we live our lives.
What can we do to be like them?
1. Let's read the Gospels over and over again to get to know our Savior better.
God sent us his Son out of love
Zechariah used the phrase "the tender compassion of our God" in his canticle of praise after his son John the Baptist was born.
What is the meaning of Compassion?
The meaning of compassion is to recognize the suffering of others and then take action to help. Compassion embodies a tangible expression of love for those who are suffering.
What is the definition of Compassion
The definition of compassion, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is the "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it."
compassion vs. empathy
The Latin root for the word compassion is pati, which means to suffer, and the prefix com- means with. Compassion, originating from compati, literally means to suffer with. The connection of suffering with another person brings compassion beyond sympathy into the realm of empathy. However, compassion is much more than empathy.
What does it mean to have compassion?
The component of action is what separates compassion from empathy, sympathy, pity, concern, condolence, sensitivity, tenderness, commiseration or any other compassion synonym.
What is the biblical definition of compassion?
The Bible doesn’t explain compassion like a dictionary does, simply telling us what the word means. Instead, the Bible defines compassion by showing us what compassion looks like and what is involved with being compassionate.
What is the spiritual definition of compassion?
The spirit of the word compassion is synonymous with doing. Compassion is not concerned with material or physical things. It's concerned with the human spirit and soul. The spiritual definition of compassion involves acting to alleviate the suffering, of others.
What is the difference between mercy and compassion?
Mercy is the compassionate treatment of those in distress. Mercy is the fruit of compassion. It’s the gift given to the suffering by those living out their compassion.
What Is Compassion?
3. What is the meaning of the Hebrew verb rendered “show mercy” or “have pity”?
When Jehovah Showed Compassion to a Nation
7, 8. In what way did the Israelites suffer in ancient Egypt, and how did Jehovah respond to their suffering?
When Jehovah Withholds Compassion
17-19. (a) How does the Bible show that Jehovah’s compassion is not without limits? (b) What caused Jehovah’s compassion for his people to reach its limit?
Questions for Meditation
Jeremiah 31:20 What tender feelings does Jehovah have for his people, and how does this make you feel toward him?
Kristin Neff, PhD, created the scale that psychologists worldwide use to measure self-compassion. Now she reveals the hidden superpower that makes being kind to yourself a primal force for justice
Kristin Neff, PhD, created the scale that psychologists worldwide use to measure self-compassion. Now she reveals the hidden superpower that makes being kind to yourself a primal force for justice.
NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO Get Fierce
Self-compassion is useful for anyone, and most of what I’ve written about in the past has been gender neutral. But I believe that self-compassion is especially necessary for women at this moment in history. Women have had it with mansplaining and being treated as if we were incompetent.
The Tender Compassion of Our God
T he Liturgy of the Hours is the richest single prayer resource of the Christian Church, with prayers, psalms and readings for each of the Hours, changing each day and through the seasons The monks, nuns and those living a cloistered life pray seven times a day.
Jim McIntosh
A former missionary to Perú and Bolivia, I am now working half-time at a parish in New Jersey and half-time as webmaster for US Franciscans.