Some kids seem to be hard-wired for empathy, but how do we reach those who aren't? No parent sets out to raise a cruel child, but in order teach kids to be kind, it’s critical to start when they're young and can most easily absorb fundamental lessons. The stakes get higher as they age. While there's no easy program to follow, parents and educators several critical steps to help stack the deck in favor of raising a child who demonstrates kindness and compassion. Read more here . . .

"The smallest act of compassion can inspire the greatest movement of healing. Everyone matters and everyone deserves self-acceptance, love, and belonging. Your particular problems aren’t the same as mine. And my problems aren’t the same as my neighbors. But we all struggle with a lot of the same heartaches. Most of us have been treated unjustly at some point in our lives. We’ve felt like we didn’t fit in, and maybe like the world was against us. We’ve felt afraid of being judged and rejected. We’ve felt like we’re not enough (smart enough, thin enough, funny enough, young enough, rich enough, etc). We’ve lost loved ones. We’ve had to make hard choices and do things we didn’t feel competent or ready to do. You know what? We’re all in this together. We can choose to help each up or we can choose to push each other away." Read more here ...

When we're busy or involved with helping others, it's easy to put ourselves at the bottom of our priority list. Nevertheless, it's vital to find little ways to show ourselves compassion, because at the end of the day, each of us matters as much as anyone else in our lives. Self-compassion not only can help us feel balanced and appreciated, but it is also essential to feeling healthy and safe.  Read more here ...

Even small acts of kindness and compassion toward other humans or animals not only brings them happiness and makes us feel good too, but also considerably improves our health, including the health of our heart.  Watch this talk by David Hamilton, PhD, to learn the scientific reasons why.

Many experts agree that people who adopt a new companion animal should try their best to clear their schedules the first few days following the animal’s arrival. Not only can pets benefit from the comfort of being cared for by a loving parent after spending time in an animal shelter, but they require attention to be properly housebroken and trained so they don’t become a public nuisance. It’s clear that spending time with your fur-baby is in your pet’s best interest — but it’s also in your employer’s best interest, too. Read more here ... and here ... and here ...