Wellbeing

Relationships is constantly talked about, practised and built at St Anne's. Our children our taught explicitly how to have positive relationships as well as supported in navigating conflict when it occurs. Compassion and Empath are talked often about with our students.

Here are some interesting words from Andrew Fuller. 

Relationships- compassion 

John Hendry, Neil Hawkes & Andrew Fuller 

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. —Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. The fifth quality or value in the Relationship Quotient (RQ) is compassion. 

Compassion involves showing care for other people by understanding their feelings, emotional state and situations.

 Compassion relates to empathy, emotional intelligence and to altruism. It is the form altruistic love takes when other people are suffering. 

Compassion connects us to others. It is the wellspring for empathy, respect and caring. Compassion is a deep form of gratitude. 

Compassion is natural and defines what it is to be human. We all possess mirror neurons that give us an empathic understanding of the feelings and actions of other people. This is something we are born with. It is innate. 

Compassionate people are not those who lack flaws, the brave are not those who feel no fear and the generous are not those who never feel selfish. 

Extraordinary people are not extraordinary because they do not possess flaws. They are extraordinary because they choose to be self-aware and create a better world. Human nature is not to seek independence– to become an island to oneself – but, rather, to seek companionship, affection and intimacy. The old belief that equates self development and self-consciousness with increasing autonomy has not been found to be true. None of us are truly independent. We are inter-dependent. We rely on others and we are born to be in relationships. 

Compassion and empathy link us and bond us with others. Humans are keen to connect, connect and share. Our most feared punishment is solitary confinement. Social media flourishes mainly because enables connecting and sharing with other people. 

Empathy is the psychological means by which we become part of other people’s lives and share meaningful experiences. It creates meaning and purpose in our lives. 

Love is fuelled by compassion. It is the capacity to value others as well as ourselves. Relationships are constructed on the contribution we can make to the other, not on what advantage we can gain from the other. 

To be filled with compassion is to look beyond ourselves, to enjoy shared possibilities and to discover what creates pain and to try to remedy it. 

Copy right Andrew Fuller www.andrewfuller.com.au