-Dalai Lama
It's easy to make things sound more complicated than they actually are. I've heard compassion trivialized in many ways. Some people ask why they would ever want to help others if they could be helping themselves instead. Some people think the term 'compassion' is corny or lame. I disagree.
One of my favorite bands, the Talking Heads, have a song called No Compassion. The singer, David Byrne, laments why he can't be compassionate. It's all due to self-imposed restraints; he sings, "They say compassion is a virtue, but I don't have the time."
We can make compassion sound like a bigger deal than it is. We can trick ourselves into thinking it means fake-smiling 24/7, giving everything we have to help others, and spending every waking minute thinking of ways to save the world.
Really, compassion is simple. It's genuinely saying thank you to the guy at the deli who cooks your breakfast sandwich at 8am. It's giving a homeless person a dollar and a kind greeting, regardless of what you think he might spend the dollar on. It's calling a friend you haven't heard from in a while and checking in. It's going outside of yourself to the extent of your ability. You'll benefit in return.
Most importantly, it's doing all these things whole-heartedly, not because you think you should, but because you want to.
Think about it: while happiness is truly cultivated within, there are also social factors involved. Helping someone else literally makes you a good person-- especially to whoever you helped. Regardless of your motivation, doing good for others will improve your sense of meaning and worth. It sounds so simple, but if more people realized the mutually beneficial nature of being compassionate, the world would be a more peaceful place. We're taught to seek happiness in money, objects and appearances. Like the Dalai Lama said, it's actually all about compassion.
It might take some practice, but try to be more compassionate today than you were yesterday. Smile at a stranger, or give your old stuff to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Whatever works for you will work for whoever you choose to be compassionate towards, as long as you take initiative and do the deed. Try to make it a fun thing rather than some sort of stoic chore or something. It should be fun after all; you're helping someone else, and you're helping yourself.
-Plato
