Compassion in Action

When people hear about the Boston Recovery Foundation, they often say things like, “Oh, you’re an angel,” “You’re doing God’s work,” or “I feel so sorry for those people.” While we appreciate the sentiment, those words don’t really help people living on the streets of Boston struggling with substance use disorder and mental health issues. When we see someone lying on the sidewalk, all skin and bones, with open sores all over their body, we feel compelled to do more than just feel bad. We need to act beyond sympathy and empathy. Sympathy is feeling for someone else, and empathy is understanding their pain. Compassion, on the other hand, is a strong urge to act.

The Latin root of the word “compassion” is really interesting: “COM” means “with” or “together,” and “PASSION” means “to suffer.” So, compassion literally means to suffer with. This word origin shows the true meaning of compassion: a strong desire to help people who are suffering.

Compassion, often misunderstood as a fuzzy feeling, is actually a deep ache that drives us to act. It means genuinely feeling others’ pain and sorrow. When we see someone suffering, compassion compels us to help them because we feel it too. Unlike sympathy or empathy, which involve understanding, compassion is about doing something— taking action. Most of us understand suffering from our own experiences. When we notice others’ suffering, we feel a desire to help them. Instead of just feeling bad, let’s ask ourselves what we can do to be part of their healing. Compassion not only helps others feel better but sharing compassion makes us happier, too. Dopamine is released when we help others, and it gives us a feeling of well-being called a “helper high.”

Every Sunday, our volunteers have conversations with and provide resources to nearly 100 people. Most of whom are in distress. Some wounds are clearly visible, while others are revealed in the stories they are kind enough to share with us. While we listen to their stories, we share smiles and we share tears, but most importantly, we share our own humanity. And we hope that their healing can begin by knowing that they’re not invisible and that their stories matter to us. Compassion is good for both our souls and the world. We all have it; let’s share it.