Of dictionaries and online culture.

I find that every time I'm asked to define something, even if it's what it means to me personally, I start off with a dictionary definition. I also find that countless other people do this, so we may as well just get it out of the way. Here's the dictionary.com definition of compassion:

com·pas·sion

–noun

1. a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

To me personally, compassion lies in the little things in life. It can be something as small as smiling at a stranger when walking past them, or saying good morning with a smile instead of a groggy, noncommittal groan. It can have a result as big as the Day of Pink, or saving lives.

Just to throw some things out there, in addition to the Day of Pink and the Golden Gate Bridge stories above, here are some movements (campaigns? Whatever floats your boat, really) that have really impacted me.


Operation Beautiful. This mission started out in June 2009, I believe. The original mission statement was "ending fat talk, one anonymous Post-It at a time." Basically, you take a post-it, write a feel-good message on it, and put it up on a bathroom mirror (but now it's moved on to library books, magazine covers, etc.). It really does help, because in today's world self-esteem is at an all-time low.


To Write Love On Her Arms. TWLOHA is all about hope and love. According to the World Health Organization statistics on their website, 121 million people worldwide suffer from depression. Two in three of these people don't seek help - that's 81 million people right there (and these stats, to my knowledge, haven't been updated in a while). They embed the fact that you are not alone, that hope is real.

"The vision is people finding life, finding freedom, finding love. The vision is graduation, a Super Bowl, a wedding, a child, a sunrise. The vision is people becoming incredible parents, people breaking cycles, making change." (from the TWLOHA website.)


RUOK. This was started in Australia just last year, to bring down suicide rates. Their mandate is based off the belief that, while it may not fix everything, simply asking someone if they're okay when they don't seem to be can be helpful - and believe me, it quite literally saves lives.


Gives Me Hope. GMH isn't exactly a movement; rather, it's "Chicken Soup for the Soul - the 21st Century, Twitter-style version". The negative image of the world portrayed in the media irks me to no end. While the credibility of a website such as GMH is questionable, simply because there's no way of verifying the degree of truth in some of the posts, it still brings to light the fact that the world isn't nearly as bad as it's made out to be.

Which brings me back to compassion. To me, compassion is a reminder that the world is a beautiful place, and we're all lucky to be part of it. We're all lucky to wake up in the morning to live to see another day, but not everyone is able to remember that all the time. On the days when you're aware of it, though, what's the harm in making sure your sunny disposition on life is spread around a little more?

So here's my compassionate act of the day: this is me reminding you that you are beautiful and loved, and that if things seem bad, they will get better.

Mucho love in your general direction,
F.