[Hi! My daughter Britney and I always have these deep meaningful conversations about topics that concern us or things that can help or improve our lives. Britney has a degree in literature, writing, and film. I love her writing and she is going to collaborate with me on some of these topics and my free printables by doing some of my writing. She hit the nail on the head with this post! I’m “happi” to introduce her writing skills here on a topic that we have both have an interest in.]

Compassion. This is something I’ve been thinking a lot about
over the past year or so. In fact, I think about it just about every time I get
online. Why? Because, sadly, it’s tough to come across a post, article, status,
or photo that is free of some sort of snarky, judgmental, or just downright
mean comment.

 

A celebrity posts a picture and is immediately attacked with comments about her minor imperfections. A mom writes a post that includes the admission that she and her kids ate at McDonald’s that afternoon and is instantly labeled a bad mother from several commenters. Someone states their religious views and derogatory comments about their religion, character, and beliefs start flooding in.

But there is so much more to these people than what the Internet sees.

Whatever happened to kindness and compassion? Social media
has made us, as a society, a whole lot meaner. And that’s a pretty sad thing to
let happen.

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” ~Dalai Lama

I think this epidemic of meanness comes down to a few
things:

When we’re sitting behind a computer, it’s much
easier to say not so friendly things.

2.
It’s easy to judge a situation when we’re only
seeing the small part of it that shows up in the post or picture.

3.
Typed words lack an important element in
communication: tone.

 

So what can we do to bring compassion back?

Here are 5 good places to start:

 
1. Think before you type. Would you say it if you
were standing face to face with the poster? If someone said it to you, how
would you feel?

2.
2. Try to look at the bigger picture and remember
you’re only seeing one part of the person or situation.

3.
3. Reread your words before you hit enter. Could
the intended tone of our words be mistaken in any way? Sarcasm, in particular,
is often lost over the Internet.

4. Compassion is contagious. If you see a post with mean
comments, post something positive that will make others stop and think. Don’t
attack negative commenters. Simply state something happy, uplifting, or filled
with compassion. Maybe you will cause someone else to think differently. Maybe
you’ll even get them to change an opinion. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll alter
the direction future comments take. If all else fails, you will have shared
your compassion with the original poster. A little bit of compassion goes a
long way!

5. So let’s all pledge to spread compassion wherever we go. Let’s
flood social media with kindness and love. Let’s start today—right now. Here is
a graphic to help you get started:

 Download this print ——>>  HERE 🙂

How will you spread compassion today?