How Showing Compassion for Animals
Can Improve Personal
Well-Being
By Alex Pietrowski
Compassion is the humane side of suffering, which inspires
the most beautiful acts of humanity. In man’s world, animals often bear the
worst of our dark side, suffering under the stresses of cruelty and
ruthlessness, however, being compassionate towards animals may actually be good
for your health and well-being, perhaps even prolonging your life.
For so many of us, compassion appears to be an innate,
instinctual part of the human experience, something so many of us do
automatically, and decades of clinical psychological research into the problem
of human suffering shows how our most evolved nature is to respond
compassionately. A host of university studies share the conclusion that
compassion is part of our higher nature, looking at the biological basis for
compassion.
“Dacher Keltner
summarized the emerging findings from this new science of human goodness,
proposing that compassion is “an evolved part of human nature, rooted in our
brain and biology.”
Human well-being is multi-dimensional and the corollaries
between how we behave and how that behavior in turn affects our overall
wellness are more understood now than ever before. When we act from our higher
nature, it benefits our health, which may explain the tendency for so many
people to live altruistic lives in helping others and protecting animals.
“That suffering,
as unpleasant as it is, often also has a bright side to which research has paid
less attention: compassion. Human suffering is often accompanied by beautiful
acts of compassion by others wishing to help relieve it. What led 26.5 percent
of Americans to volunteer in 2012 (according to statistics from the US
Department of Labor)? What propels someone to serve food at a homeless shelter,
pull over on the highway in the rain to help someone with a broken down
vehicle, or feed a stray cat?”
Taking this one step further, looking at the tendency of
people to extend compassion beyond the human race, showing empathy towards the
animal kingdom and the natural world, we find an infinite number of
possibilities for improving our own lives by directing our energy toward ending
the pain and suffering of many beings.
Being compassionate has even been shown to make us more
attractive to the opposite sex in behavioral studies looking at societies with
more altruistic tendencies.
“One more sign
that suggests that compassion is an adaptively evolved trait is that it makes
us more attractive to potential mates. A study examining the trait most highly
valued in potential romantic partners suggests that both men and women agree
that “kindness” is one of the most highly desirable traits.”
Furthermore, engaging in acts of compassion, when done for
the right reasons, can increase one’s peace of mind and happiness:
“The cultivation
of well-being has specifically shown that it is eudemonic, rather than hedonic
wellbeing which is linked to a sense of connectedness with oneself, and others.
Eudemonic wellbeing implies finding meaning and purpose in life, living in
accordance with one’s values and developing a sense of long-term “spiritual”
health (not necessarily religious).
In turn, eudemonic
well-being may be cultivated through mindful practices such as mediation and
compassion training.”
Final Thoughts
It’s not something that would surprise most people, as the
expression of our best nature feels good and is uplifting for everyone
involved, but the inverse of this must also be true, that people who neglect
their own health would have a more difficult time being compassionate to
animals, and even nature in general. Therefore, adding intentional kindness,
compassion and empathy the ways in which we attain better health and wellness
makes perfect sense.
About the Author
Alex Pietrowski is an artist and writer concerned with
preserving good health and the basic freedom to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. He
is a staff writer for WakingTimes.com and Offgrid Outpost, a provider
ofstorable food and emergency kits. Alex is an avid student of Yoga and life.
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