Compassion is letting others know they are not alone. Today let’s celebrate International Day of Peace by talking about compassion.

Compassion comes from the Latin words com, that means “together,” and pati, meaning “to suffer.” Merriam-Webster’s definition is “Sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.” First, we have to be conscious and understand others’ pain, grief, or worry, then a desire to relieve or lessen the distress.

The older I get, the more I realize how similar we all are, and that we have more in common than our differences. We all want to be loved, to be heard, and to feel that our lives matter. These are common denominators that allow connection with others and help to give our lives meaning. And when we connect, compassion usually follows.

Compassion is the foundation of human happiness. — 14th Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhist monk, spiritual leader, peace activist

The language of compassion is the communication of our soul speaking through our hearts. Caring about the well-being of others is one of our most important life practices. And ask, How can I be of service? brings empathetic action. When we are kind toward another person, we receive kindness in return. By implementing compassion, we learn how to give and receive love.

The purpose of human life it to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others. — Albert Schweitzer, Alsatian-German theologian, Nobel Peace Prize for Philosophy 1952

Pope Francis stated in front of Congress on September 24, 2015, “Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves. Let us help others to grow, as we would like to be helped ourselves.”1 We should strive to live the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” There are no better words to live by to teach us compassion. Compassion is the ultimate unity of humanity.

When I show compassion, I am sharing myself with another to form a “we.” To me, everything in life is connected and cannot be separated. Once we internalize this truth, we no longer feel isolated and alone. Compassion allows us to discover a connection, opening the door to love.

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy. — Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali poet, Nobel Prize in Literature 1913

Photo by Matt Collamer on Unsplash