Blog: Compassion in Communities
Did anyone else’s year begin with a whirl of activity?
February has allowed a moment of pause and our theme is compassion, providing the solace of recognising, noticing and understanding.
I sat down with 2 members of The Brilliant Club, Tik and Pili to reflect on what compassion means to us, weaving in experiences that have not only shaped our personal growth but have also influenced the way we work.
Tik explained how she has navigated a career path as a former pharmacist from Thailand, now residing in the UK for eight years, working in private sales and marketing to the care sector and now in communities. For Tik, this transition has made transformative power of compassion clear in her life. Tik has a background in science and had an initial desire to aid people as a pharmacist, and shes come to recognise the profound impact of considering others' feelings and stories in my interactions as she develops community based work.
Joining us in this exploration was Pili, an inclusion project manager at Dorset Music Service. Originating from Northwest Spain, Pili shared her reflections on how personal and professional circumstances have accentuated the significance of compassion in her life. Together, chatted about ways compassion has shaped our journeys.
The inspiring story of creating the "Happy Me" community—an initiative focused on fostering a sense of community, identifying needs, and bringing people together showed us how by getting into communities, really listening and then creating support to meet those real and not guessed needs feels like a compassionate and impactful way of doing things.
Tik, with her colleague Donna started with small supportive community groups in collaboration with another CIC.
The inspiring story of creating the "Happy Me" community grew and focused on creating a world where happy liberated women can lead change for themselves, their communities and wider society. Tik and Donnas work fosters a sense of community, identifies needs, and brings women together.
This development journey shows us how by getting into communities, really listening and then creating support to meet those real and not guessed needs feels like a compassionate and impactful way of doing things.
Pili echoed these sentiments, discussing how compassion manifests in her work with children, young people, and colleagues. Emphasising the need to be non-judgmental and take a moment to understand the reasons behind someone's actions, Pili's shared her commitment to creating a compassionate work environment that resonates deeply with the ethos of us at A Brilliant Thing CIC.
Our stories highlighted vital lessons in compassion, extending beyond personal and professional situations to describe ways of showing up in the world. The importance of withholding judgment, practicing patience, and creating spaces where individuals feel seen and heard prompts us to consider how we spend time, organise, prioritise. Whether supporting mothers in a playgroup, teaching children or navigating complex group dynamics, our shared commitment to understanding and kindness builds on the compassion we want to feel for ourselves and extend to our communities.
This conversation, with 2 brilliant women with different lives and work and passions, demonstrates that talking about the big topics like compassion can be a catalyst for creating meaningful connections, fostering understanding, and making a difference in the lives of those around us.
In a world that often demands more, perhaps what we need most is a little more compassion.
