Any compassionate action is good in that it is forward movement of the individual and humanity toward a more humane world.  And this is always good.  Yet ultimately the greatest compassion is that which exists before we ever see the individual suffering, when we are driven by a sense of racial hunger for a meaningful existence.

From the surface it would appear we have a long way to go before, as a species, we are motivated by such altruism.  Yet if we are able to look more closely we may see signs of this shift to a compassionate society happening.  We may see the signs in a corporate shift toward philanthropy and environmental responsibility.  We may see the shift in some of the ‘gifted’ children who are causing change from the bottom up.  We may see it in acts of harmonious resolution where before the only way was adversarial. 

Of course the biggest challenge to seeing the change is the necessity of being part of the change.  No one can possibly comprehend that which has never been a part of their experience. Somehow the seeds of a new understanding must be sown into the hearts of every individual before there can be a recognition of a new way.  One way this often happens is through personal trial and stress.  Once we receive compassionate understanding we can then be a part of the shift.

One of the greatest moments to be in a person’s life is at the point when they comprehend the richness of compassion.  In that moment the giver and receiver find a moment of happiness that can only grow and spread.