A Day’s Journey

Laos — November 2022

What would the world be like if we cared more?

About ourselves, about each other, about our environment. A stark contrast I’ve seen between East vs West culture is the sense of community. In western culture, we argue over who’s responsible for paying for our sick and poor or where they should be housed or simply gawk over just “how sad,” that is. It is indeed sad… sad that westerners cannot come together to take care of each other. There is such a prevailing individualistic mindset that ultimately drives apart community. If we constantly assess what is best for our self, then we will never be open to comprising on what is best for everyone.

One of the most beautiful displays of community I have ever witnessed happened in Laos during a Buddhist alms giving ceremony. Each morning in the city of Luang Prabang citizens line the Main Street with food to donate. Laotian Buddhist Monks awake at 4:30am to meditate and by 5:30am are already making their way single file down the street to receive offerings from devoted Buddhists. They return the thanks by blessing those who donated. I was deeply moved by the ceremony. Many of the monks are children, as people can become monks as young as age 7. I had heard that orphans or poor children are sometimes sent to monasteries to study and become monks. Monks do not have an income and rely on alms giving to maintain sustenance. So what I was witnessing was the community taking care of the poor and receiving spiritual peace in return.

I returned the following day and it only got better. I went to the end of the queue to see where monks go after they fill their bag with offerings. I saw poor and possibly homeless children kneeling at the end of the line. The monks dumped heaps of rice and food into the children’s bags. For many of the monks, it looked like most of their bag. I saw a cycle of community: monk – poor – community-monk. And to think this ceremony happens every morning- rain or shine. What would the world be like if we all cared THAT much about each other?

By definition, “compassion is the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and you feel motivated to relieve that suffering.” The research on compassion is well-vetted to prove that compassion positively impacts our well being (see below).

Compassion can drive social connections, which is vital for adaptive human functioning. As both a traveler and a healthcare provider, compassion is critical for me to form quick, trusting social connections in novel situations. Self-compassion is also important as it opposes self-judgment. Having self-compassion allows a person to be more forgiving towards their own shortcomings. It gives a sense of common humanity as opposed to isolation- a sense that shortcomings are part of the human experience and that nobody is perfect. Self compassion leads to lower levels of anxiety and burnout, and higher levels of happiness through increased resilience. As the Dalai Lama said, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” Think about your actions and mindset today towards yourself and community- how can you live more compassionately?