Thanksgiving for Compassion and Love

Thursday, November 24 is Thanksgiving Day here in the United States. Character in action in many lives provides a cornucopia of reasons for thanksgiving. Take, for example, the victims of hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Add to their number the victims of tornadoes in the Midwest and floods in the

Generosity and Compassion are Still Alive

Generosity and compassion are still alive in the small town of Russiaville, Ind. I believe it is safe to say a host of other character traits also live in that farming community. Late in June of this past year, the community grieved as one of their farmers, 64-year old Mr.

Disaster – An Opportunity to Teach Compassion

Compassion or caring, it’s the same character trait by either name – and the teacher inside me tried to force me out of bed to write this last night. I managed to sleep instead, but this morning I began thinking again about the opportunity a disaster presents to teach children

Compassionate Sandra – A True Story

Today, with no conscious prompt, I found myself thinking about Sandra, a 12-year old, blonde, Dutch girl in New Zealand. As her face filled the lens of my inner eye, I smiled, remembering what a stunning example of compassion Sandra was – and thinking that she probably still is a

The Compassion We Would Like to Receive

The compassion, i.e., caring we would like to receive is the quality and quantity of compassion we must give. How would you teach children the meaning of compassion? Or, thinking of younger children, how would you teach the meaning of caring, this month’s character trait? Asking this question recently, we

Compassion Relieves Needs

…and differs from what we call “charity.” Picture for a moment an animal suffering two broken legs. The animal believes its greatest need is the cessation of pain, and we empathize. At the animal hospital, a veterinarian named Charity says that regular injections to control pain will meet the need.

True Caring is Powerful and Voluntary

Caring (compassion) is a powerful trait. If widespread, it could eradicate the need for government welfare plans. (We have lived in four nations, and this holds true in all four. It is probably true where you live.) Caring is powerful – and it is voluntary. Caring people take action to

YOU Can Jump the Hurdles!

You can, as stated above, build compassion effectively only by clearing three (3) major hurdles. Let’s look at them together and see how you can clear them successfully. Ensure crystal clear understanding of compassion. When speaking of the character trait compassion, we must be sure our listeners understand clearly what

Quotes on “Compassion”

Compassion …begins by observing the suffering of others, identifies with that suffering as if it were my own, and then acts to alleviate the cause of the suffering and restore emotional balance. “The individual is capable of both great compassion and great indifference. He has it within his means to

Character Education Attacks Bullying – Compassion

Character education attacks bullying by providing convincing, clear teaching on compassion. Compassion is sometimes referred to as “caring” in character education circles. While there may be actual differences in meaning, the teaching of either can do much to eradicate bullying. Caring is a word that most children and teens readily