ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a foundation for compassionate thinking to allow for connection through mutual respect and understanding, to help health professionals and their students build empathy, feel calmer during conflict, and perceive, behave and feel better. Compassion welcomes differences, diversity and ambiguity. Harvard researcher Matt Killingsworth showed that coming into presence for compassion in this way has another bonus. Until people are equipped with enough skills to treat themselves and others with compassion, there will continue to be harmful social divisions stemming from negative and ego driven mindsets within families, friendship circles, school communities and beyond. Studies around the globe have demonstrated the value of self-compassion and compassion training to manage stress and anxiety in the workplace and beyond. When professionals consider the opposite meaning of compassion is ‘cruel’, ‘merciless’, ‘cold’, apathetic’ and ‘disinterested’, it's more than clear why teaching young people to be compassionate can improve not only family and school community's perspectives but the broader community in general.
