Where do you learn compassion from? As a child my parents tried to teach compassion to us, teaching us to do the right thing. Yet as we grow and life circumstances change our view on things, compassion sometimes isn't foremost in our mind. What has hit me in the last few days is that there is always a lesson we can learn from our children. The other night at the dinner table, my oldest daughter asked if a friend of hers could spend the night at our house. Apparently he had left his mom's house and was sleeping in his car.
Now I'm not against taking kids in -- however, I do question why they have left their house and what is going on with them. My household has rigid rules and yet I find that we always have a lot of extra kids around just to hang out. After a lengthy discussion with my daughter, we discussed how years ago she had stood by this same friend when he was removed from his mom's house due to abuse from his brother. She continued their friendship when he moved out of state and when he finally came back home. Now as they are seniors she still longs to take care of people. She has always had a kind heart.
So agreeing, we have a visitor for the night and again the next night. I look at my children, thinking that something right must have been instilled in them. They know the right thing to do and how to be a good friend to someone.
What lessons do you learn from your children or even young adults you may know? Do we take this lessons for granted or do we allow them to touch our lives, allowing ourselves to learn and grow in our own lives.
2 comments:
What a great topic. Where do we learn compassion? Is it something we inherit from our parents? Is it something that some people are just born with? Could it be something we learn because we know somebody with a disability and have had to become patient? I agree, sometimes it takes our own kids and their childlike compassion to remind us of ours. Last week we stopped in at Mcdonalds and an older woman, visibly upset, asked if she could use my cell phone. While I helped her out, my son asked her what was wrong. She said, sometimes you just get sad and need to be around your friends. My son took her hand and told her he would help her feel better. I was very proud of him in that moment, and that made me do even more to help this woman.
Thanks for a great post today. Keep it up.
Got to love our kids, especially when they teach us a thing or two. Glad you enjoyed it.
Post a Comment