Are you more empathetic or compassionate? Do you know there are surprising benefits of compassion? Read on to know why compassion is good for us and how we can do more of it.
Among so much disheartening news these days, once in a while there is a bright spot that is truly heart-warming. Such was the case when I read about, and watched on video, 21-year-old Naomi Osaka’s act of kindness and compassion toward 15-year-old Coco Gauff at the U.S. Open. After losing in the third round at the U.S. Open, Gauff was on the sidelines unsuccessfully trying to fight back tears.
Osaka immediately went over to her and offered kind words, and then invited her to be part of the post-match interview (which is usually only for the victors). During that interview, Osaka became teary as she spoke to Gauff’s parents in the audience, recalling being at the same training facility as Gauff, and acknowledging Gauff’s hard work, and how both they (the parents) and Gauff are “amazing.”
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Surprising Benefits of Compassion
Interestingly, by expressing compassion, not only does the recipient of the compassion benefit but so too does the one giving compassion. Some of the many benefits to the person expressing compassion include reduced levels of cellular inflammation, increased perceptions of happiness and an experience of pleasure, a buffering effect against stress, an increase in longevity, a broadening ability to see a wider perspective outside of oneself, and increasing feelings of social connection (which in and of itself have major implications for health and well-being).
Empathy Versus Compassion
Whereas empathy involves putting yourself in another’s shoes and feeling the suffering of others, compassion goes further and involves a genuine wish or act to alleviate another’s suffering and to be with another in their suffering. This was the case with Osaka.
She could have walked off the court and in her own mind recalled what it was like to publicly lose at the U.S. Open (as had happened to her the year prior), and felt in her body what she imagined that Gauff might be feeling, by remembering or imagining the pain of such a moment.
But instead, she went further and reached out in such a genuinely compassionate way, in a moment that Gauff will likely never forget, and in a way that likely changed Gauff’s experience of her own suffering. Such moments are truly precious and we all have the capacity to offer them. In fact, the impact of doing so may be more far-reaching than you realize.
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A Personal Recollection
I still vividly remember such an act of compassion when I was 15. It was at my mother’s funeral, and I recall we were pulling into the driveway of the temple where the funeral service was being held. My mom had died tragically in a car accident, and it was a time of intense grief and suffering for my family and I.
As I looked up through my tears, I saw three of my friends from my dance class walking into the sanctuary to be at the funeral. I had no idea they were coming, and I certainly hadn’t expected them to be there. The fact that they had taken time from their own lives to be with me during this darkest time, to be present with me in my pain, was something I never forgot.
Sometimes, because seeing another person suffering is difficult, we might shy away from opportunities to reach out. At other times, we might feel helpless because we are not sure how we can make a difference. Other times, people may feel uncertain about how to express compassion.
