As much as I would like to, I don’t believe we are born with compassion.  I think we are born with the desire to be compassionate; a desire which becomes as useless as the most beautiful words never spoken, if not acted upon.  I think of compassion as a muscle, which gains strength as we use it.  We activate its fibers when we don’t avert our eyes and simply walk past the person holding a cardboard sign.  It grows and tingles when we offer a hand, a shoulder, or our heart to someone who’s mourning.  And it tears and grows stronger still, when, even at our most rock-bottom moments, we extend it to ourselves.

Compassion.

It’s a muscle.

It’s an intention.

It’s a practice.

It’s a choice.

I am over the moon to list my name among the many that have stepped forward, with heart and pen in hand, to take part in 1000 Voices of Compassion.  #1000Speak is the brainchild of the fabulous Lizzi Rogers and the talented Yvonne Spence and is based on Lizzi’s post, which tells us WE are the Village. And WE are responsible for the health, heart and well-being of those sharing this big, beautiful, blue sphere of ours.

We all inhale and exhale under the same sky.

We ALL do.

With that in mind, one month from today, on February 20, we will be flooding the webwaves with messages of compassion.  And you can take part.  At this very moment, there are 869 members.  You could be 870.

Below are some links for those bloggers who crave involvement:

Pinterest: 

The Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/306227992909657/

The Facebook Fanpage: 1000 Voices Speak for Compassion

Twitter:  When tweeting, use the hashtag #1000Speak

And if you’re not a blogger, but want to spread some compassion (and hopefully, get a little on yourself), you can do so here: #1000 Speak for Compassion or email 1000Speak@gmail.com and someone will gently guide you through the process.

Whatever you do, do something.

Tear some muscle.

Don’t let it atrophy.

Be. Connected.

And be changed.