Welcome to Tales My Mother told me…
Tale Four: "Being Compassionate"
This week I would like to share with you what I've
learnt and understood about being compassionate and how you can apply the
act of compassion in life and in business.
I learnt compassion from my parents at an early age
by observing what they did. Particularly with my mum, she is a compassionate
woman who has done many good things for people around her. At the time I knew
they always helped people whenever they could. At the time, I didn’t know
what compassion meant anyway. I was only a kid.
Remember the first tale "When you help one, you help thousands", mum has always been generous with people and shown
her compassion in many ways.
I also recalled a situation when my mum had to
make a hard decision to let two workers go. One was her nephew, which was my
cousin and the other one was a top performance worker in the factory. At
the time I was curious and asked my sister why cousin Jek was fighting
with brother Chi and why was mum & dad had to make such a big decision to
let them both go. My sister said "Don't ask, this is grown up business. Go
outside and play". As a kid I was inquisitive and I still am… that
won't change!
As I grew older I finally asked mum about the
incident. She had expressed such compassion by helping them that I couldn’t
understand how they could have caused so much trouble in return, and how she
could make the hard decision to terminate the employment of her own nephew and
her best worker.
Here is what she said:
"My little one, it was a very hard decision
for your dad and I to make at the time. We were very disappointed too. We had
to let them go because both had done the wrong thing. They were always fighting
with each other. Compassion is not just a concern for the welfare of others.
It's more like altruism; we all have a duty to provide something of
value. Part of compassion is also to teach people from right and from wrong and
also the responsibility and the consequences which come with it too. Also if
you choose to help someone, do it without the recognition of giving. Don't
expect any benefits in returns. You do it because you want to and it was the
right thing to do."
So
how do you act compassionately in the business world?
In
life and business you may think that to be compassionate means that you
need to be passive or weak and allow people to walk over you. This is not what
is meant by compassion. The meaning of compassion is not a sign of weakness or
being weak at all. It is the strength that shines out of seeing the true nature
of suffering around you. You need to make a decision and take appropriate
action too, like Mum had to let go of the two workers because they were
damaging the team spirit and breaching the workplace policies.
Compassion
is built from strength, which come from endurance and your business
clarity. With strength, you overcome fear and it allows you to see the
injustice without any hesitation. This is because you stand up for what is
right for your people and for your business.
So when was the last time you have expressed compassion to someone?
What was it? And how did you feel?
Please share your thoughts and leave your comments here or leave a comment on ArtSHINE Facebook page.
Tune in next Friday for tale 5: "Find the inner calm in you.."
More Tales My Mother Told Me...
Volume 1:
Volume 1:
Tale 2: "Your Mind is Powerful"
Tale 4: "Being Compassionate"
Tale 6: "The Magic Pen"
Tale 8: "Confidence & Competence"
Tale 11:"I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done"
Tale 12: "Frog In The Well"
Tale 12: "Frog In The Well"
Volume 2:
Tale 3: Talking about army on paper.
Tale 4: Being Persistent
Tale 5: A Poet’s Writing Skills Decline
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