«And he said, ‘He who showed mercy on him.’ Then Jesus said to him, Go and do likewise’ » (Luke 10:37).
Carolina Klos shared with me a chapter she had written about compassion from discoveries and concepts she had collected from several articles and research. She and Viviana Lemos had dedicated part of their work as psychologists to the study of this subject and, as Adventist professionals, provide an academic platform that explains in more detail many of the behaviors Jesus had and their effect on people.
Compassion has been studied by different cultures in various historical periods in order to promote it in daily life. It is considered as a central principle.
Starting in 2002, with positive psychology, more academic studies began to be done on it. Unlike empathy and sympathy, compassion is experienced in situations where pain or suffering is identified.
It has four central aspects: noticing the other person ‘s suffering or discomfort, worrying about the other person, feeling an affective connection or feelings of warmth for the other person, and giving a response of relief to that discomfort.
Wien individuals also have self-pity; that is, pity for themselves, those individuals are better able to take care of their personal needs and are more available to help others.
At the present time, both Carolina and Viviana are working to promote compassion in adolescents. Among some activities to achieve this is a «virtual gratitude journal» where reasons for gratitude are identified and recorded through an application or alarm; an «internal GPS» which helps in the construction of a «map» to identify internal routes when experiencing certain emotions; and a group exercise to identify a specific need that generates ideas and proposals to respond to that need.
It is interesting to note that Jesus who was the most compassionate of all did not neglect His personal needs and maintained an intimate connection with His Father so that He could nourish Himself and thus, to be able to help others.
Today we are called to do the same thing. How can you put some of these activities that were mentioned into practice so that you are more compassionate today and this week? Depending on your personality and daily activities, there will surely be one that applies better to you. Find out which one it is and practice it!
