During my time in Moshi, Tanzania I had the opportunity to attend the mazishi, or funeral, of a young man. Tanzanians regard funerals as very important and critical to attend.  Making an effort to help out a friend or family member in need, or sometimes  even just an acquaintance, is expected of everyone.  It is even considered polite to join a funeral procession  if you pass one, or at the very least to stop and pay your respects as the procession passes by.  

In recent months I have been blogging about my trip to Tanzania, and until now I have only discussed short stories about my time there. In this blog post, I will run through a typical day and some forms of the compassion that I experienced throughout those days.

Each morning we were expected to be downstairs to eat breakfast between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. As we ate, the women working at the house would bring out food faster than we could consume it.  It was around this time every morning that we witnessed our first episode of compassion.  Every individual who was employed by Cross Cultural Solutions waited patiently for us to eat our fill before dishing up their own plates.  As hard as we tried to convince them to eat first, or even to let us cook for them, they politely declined and said it was their pleasure.  They had been raised from a young age to treat guests with a great deal of respect and to show compassion whenever possible.

The holidays are fast approaching and could you image not receiving a single gift during the holidays? Many children in Third World countries never receive any presents from their parents because it is not realistic to spend their money on things their children want. Thankfully, there is an organization called Operation Christmas Child. This organization asks that you pack a shoebox full of gifts and drop it off at one of there many locations. Then the company sends it overseas!

Last week, on the eve of Thanksgiving, four teenagers sexually assaulted a 45-year-old woman in front of her two children in Minneapolis's Powderhorn Park. The incident shocked people around the city and scared the neighborhood, but the mother made a statement that inspired the community and empowered us to believe in non-violence and restorative justice.  Her son responded similarly. The Minneapolis Star Tribune article on this remarkable story can be found at this link. The tragic incident was followed with several heart-warming letters to the editor. Below is one of those letters: 

A couple weeks ago, I was invited to a group on Facebook called “To Write Love On Her Arms." The group was inviting me to write love on my own arms on Friday, November 12. On that day,  I wrote the word love on my left wrist to symbolize all the people who have or are continuing to suffer from “depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide." I attended class and as I looked over to the girl sitting next to me, she had the same thing written on her wrist, Love.  She said she has been doing it for a couple of years.

To Write Love on Her Arms, also known as TWLOHA, is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.  It exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

I was staying at a guest house in India and I remember the morning vividly when a loud knock on my door woke me up. I found a young fragile man sitting beside a packed bag. With an exhausted face, the first thing he uttered was, “Please help me.” He and his wife, who looked even more fragile and sick, were told to vacant their room that morning by the guest house owner after knowing that both of them were HIV positive. The utensils they had used were kept aside by the owner to be discarded. With the help of my friends, we were able to generate enough money to admit the couple in the hospital and take care of their infant daughter. This heart-breaking incident triggered us to conceive a small non-profit NGO, called CHOICE in April 2007.

After starting the book The Mindful Path to Self Compassion, by Christopher Germer and Sharon Salzberg, I’ve already learned a lot about what self-compassion is and how to get it. 
 

Many people have a hard time having self-compassion. Some may even find they think they are being selfish while practicing self-compassion. However, this is not the case. Everyone approaches situations differently.

 I would like to share with all the Compassionate Bloggers and readers a website that I go to when I'm feeling down called Makes Me Think. This website allows anyone to post a story from their daily life that is particularly happy, sad, or inspiring. After becoming a Compassionate Blogger and learning more and more about compassion, I saw a lot of overlap with the little stories found on this site.

 Here is one particular post I found especially compassionate: