Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote:  "It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."  

We are all interconnected in profound ways... some we understand, some we do not.  When we feel compassion for another it is because we are fully present to our own heart, longings and our human suffering.  We can understand and share in another's pain and need because we have the capacity to access our own. 

So whether we are sincerely extending our hand, ears and/or hearts to a friend, lover or stranger; in the simplest of acts; caring a grocery bag or opening a door for someone, volunteering time at a food bank or hospital, running an errand for a sick friend...each moment we serve another we are nurturing our own hearts and minds as we heal ourselves and a small piece of the world.