Pay It Forward Compassion

In our book groups we discussed two essays “The Connection Between Strangers” by Miles Goodwin and the essay “The People Who Love You When No One Else Would” by Cecile Gilmer. In my group we said that “no matter how big or small your act of kindness is, it could change someones life” was demonstrated in both essays. In the first essay, “The Connection Between Strangers”, shows this because this little girl walked up to this solider and congratulated him. Little did she know, that the small action had changed the soldier’s life, as he said in the essay, “That girl undoubtedly has no memory of what happened years ago… It doesn't matter why she gave me the magazine. The important thing is she did” (Goodwin 83).

The short story"Aha Moment" by Julia Alvarez demonstrates that the point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on. The story expresses the idea that simple acts of kindness can make a great impact on people both mentally and physically. It can turn frightening and tense situations into assurance and aplomb. In paragraph 8, it is stated," no one screamed,no one panicked. I could hear small pockets of soothing conversation everywhere." By holding the hands and by chatting about everyday life, the passengers emboldened each other and created an optimistic atmosphere. The author points out,"someone was comforting me and kept asking me,'Are you okay?" According to Julia if someone does something good and beneficial for you, you should pass

Humans always surprise each other. The amount of good we can commit in just one simple act can be astonishing. Whether it is donating money to charity, helping out an old friend, or just even offering someone a smile or kind word when having a bad day, can lead to a great impact on their life. “Just as one drop of water creates countless of ripples, so does one gesture of kindness or love change countless lives (Randi G Fine)”. These noble, grand gestures; or le beau geste; are unselfish acts that people commit with the intention of creating a better life for someone else. These acts can be committed due to love, compassion, or sacrifice. However, in the end, all these noble gestures boil down to creating a better world out there for others.

Compassion is learned through experience and seeing those less fortunate; it brings out sympathy because one cannot ignore it when unfortunate people are everywhere.

Ascher’s essay describes the ways she has seen compassion showed, through voluntary donations, food, shelter. She openly questions what drives humans to be compassionate to each other. As a successful author who

Dalai Lama once said “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” But how does one learn how to love or feel compassion for others? People all around the world wonder why the feel compassion for others. Most people feel compassion because it helps them understand how others are feeling so they can respond appropriately to a certain situation. Barbara Lazear Ascher, a former attorney and a current author, focused on compassion and how it is developed by people. Ascher’s purpose is to show that compassion is not something that you are born with, it is something that you have to learn and practice throughout your lifetime. A way to practice compassion is when you see homeless. Ascher’s reaches her

To me compassion is helping someone through dark or rough times. Showing that you care and are there for them. My Dad (a retired veteran) works at the Veterans Northeast Outreach Center. Every year they hold Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. These dinners, however, are for homeless and/or disabled veterans. Those who can’t afford it or don’t have a family to have it with. Without the center there would be countless vets who have served our country, out on the streets. These dinners are important to them. Compassion is needed in this ditch we call Earth.

Another example of how altruism can be viewed in today’s society can be seen in the works of Mother Teresa and her plethora of altruistic acts throughout the globe. Although her focus was in India where she persued her novitiate (training), her organization has opened over 500 centers around the world helping the dying and the destitute (Moore 2002, pg. x). She took in the “untouchables” of society and gave them care and made sure that they were comfortable. Mother Teresa is often used as the benchmark when determining whether a selfless act is truly altruistic.

I don’t think many people truly take the time to appreciate the kindness they are given. For others, I believe they should understand how meaningful their compassion is.

Altruism, in which one selflessly devotes to the welfare of another without expecting anything in return, often elicits an inexplicable and intangible surge of joy, in which one gains a sense of purpose. For example, I have observed the therapists at PRANA, whom altruistically devote up to an hour, when initially only allotted a half-hour time slot, programming individualized treatments for each patient. In their hour- long treatments, they create a non-fraternizing relationship with their patients that is fully functional on trust, empathy, and generosity. Devoting that extra time to each patient gives not only the

Pay It Forward, a story written by Catherine Ryan Hyde, recounts the history of a fictional phenomenon known as paying it forward. This movement begun as a boy’s answer to his teacher extra credit assignment. To provide a solution to improve the world as the question request, a boy named Trevor devised a program with a goal of spreading altruistic actions. The plan begins with a person doing a meaningful favor to three people. Instead of having those individuals paying back the favor, they would “pay it forward” and help three other people each. As it is expected for each recipients to continue the cycle, it is believe that eventually this would create a global system of good deeds to the point where everyone can receive a favor, even the one

Although theories that suggest the non-existence of true altruism may be persuasive, it does not explain the reasons for selfless deeds done by famous figures for their love and services to people such as Mother Teresa. Batson (1991) suggested a hypothesis and feels that some people are genuinely concerned about other people’s welfare. According to his empathy-altruism hypothesis, empathic concerns produce altruism motivation and relieving their sufferings is the main priority. This hypothesis is supported by several experiments where participants are typically given an opportunity to help those in need for whom they have been led to different levels of empathic concerns.

Helping people is a noble thing to do especially when it comes to the application of natural justice, where human beings help those who are suffering. There is always a hidden intention in every action that is obscured by the notion of philanthropy. Returned favors expectation might not be the ultimate intention as to why people may perform an act (Michael, 1978). However, it will be illogical to say that these intentions were

First, it is important to understand what altruism is. Altruism is any act carried out by an individual in order to benefit another individual. [1, 2] At first glance,

Compassion leading to authentic happiness has been studied by psychologists and neuroscientist leading to similar results. Neuroscientist Jordan Grafman (2006) of the National Institute of Health conducted a brain-imaging study on the subject. He observed the brains “pleasure centers” of patients while they watched someone give money to a charity versus when they were given money themselves. The study found that the brain receptors for pleasure were equally active when people watched versus received it themselves. Simply observing an act