What Makes People Compassionate?
By Maria Serna
Exemplification Essay
ENC1101
December 4, 2008
Since long time ago, compassion or empathy has been a very important issue for human beings. We know that some books like the Bible has taught us many rules about how to be compassionate with others. For example, from the Old Testament the rule of sharing bread with others was made when it was a custom to leave leftovers and give them to the poor. This rule about breaking off the bread and leaving leftovers is still existence today. There are two reasons that make people compassionate, they want to show consideration for others, and they want to make a difference in their lives.
The first thing that makes people considerate is that they display thoughtfulness or empathy for others. This means that empathy lets people understand or identify with other’s feelings or difficulties. For instance, Mother Teresa, who was an exceptional women that won the first Nobel Prize for her humanitarian work, always showed a strong devotion to help needy people. While she was riding a train to the mountain town of Darjeelin to recover from tuberculosis, she said “she received a call from God” to serve the sick and poor people. Due her sickness, she could feel empathy and identify with others who were sick as well. Likewise, Dr. Norman Vincent (2005) says, “Empathy is a quality that enables a person to see into the mind or heart of someone else, to understand the pain or happiness , and to do something to minimize it“. In other words, people are compassionate when they share somebody’s else feelings, and realize that their basic needs are similar to theirs.
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The second thing that makes people compassionate is that they want to make a positive change in people’ lives. It means that people act toward others in the way they benefit others and influence their lives in a positive way. The following story show an example of how compassionate people can influence and change lives. On September 9, 1994 when an American family, Reg and Maggie Green were driving south in the area of Italy , their children Nicolas and Eleanor were sleeping peacefully in the back seat. Suddenly and old car pulled up alongside them, and an Italian with a bandanna over his face screamed at them, signaling them to stop. Reg floored the gas pedal. Shots rang out, shattering both windows on the driver’s side of the car. He saw blood oozing from the back of Nicolas’s head. After being rush to a hospital, Nicolas lay in comma for two days. Then doctors declared him brain dead. His parents decided to do something good for others, they offered Nicolas’s organs for transplant, “Someone should have the future he lost”, Reg said. Then, seven Italians received Nicolas’s heart, liver, kidneys, and corneas. Profoundly moved by this gesture, Italians and people all over Europe and North America poured out their emotions and reacted in sorrow. After returning to the U.S., an “organ donation campaign” started all over the world with a great success. Nicolas is gone, but others live on because of his parents’ compassionate act. Now days, organ donations are saving many lives all over the world.
In summary, people’s desire to show consideration or empathy and to make a positive influence I other’s lives are the two characteristics that make people compassionate. Indeed, compassion should be taught to children by teachers and parents when they are young and more open to new ideas. Children should practice compassionate acts every day because it’s a wonderful gift we can use to make our lives more joyful.
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