Compassion is a Verb

Ok…i’m literally in the middle of writing a post on handbags….and while i love them and think it’s worthy of posting, it just doesn’t feel right. At least not today. Not after the tragedy in Boston. I can’t seem to shake my head clear of the news. CNN has been on since i walked in the door yesterday and truthfully, i’m sad, but more than that, i’m mad.

It makes me angry that these senseless acts of violence are happening..and more frequently at that. There are so many things that are out of our control in this life…illness, natural disasters..these things are horrible. But when an event like yesterday’s takes place, it strikes a different chord because no matter how you look at it, it didn’t need to happen. It could have been prevented. And it will never be understood.

boston family

image via

But what does being mad do? Well, very little other than gnawing away at you in a very unproductive way. How can we make our world different? Eeks…that’s a BIG question. The only way i know how to even touch on it is two fold. The first…to pray. To pray that people band together, that people’s spirits will be bolstered rather than crushed, and that the goodness of people will prevail over those that chose to harm.

The second is to take the responsibilities that i’ve been given (their names are Alexis, Melina and Lincoln) and hug them tight and do my darndest to teach them compassion, love and respect.  I’m not just sure why it always seems to take something so devastating to remind me of this. But, that’s my challenge. To take each day as an opportunity not only to show compassion and kindness and generosity when i’m out and about, but also to practice it where it matters the most: in our home. So that it can hopefully translate into my kids lives. So that being compassionate comes as easy as brushing their teeth (ok, that’s a real bad comparison, because that doesn’t seem to come so easily to them?!?!) But you understand what i’m getting at, right?

We may be cooky, but we’re a unit. And i’ll try to protect it as best i can. And like this quote i came across, let’s make compassion a verb, ok?

fam heart