I just read Field Notes on the Compassionate Life – A search for the soul of kindness by Marc Ian Barasch.

At first I was a bit disappointed that this wasn’t a “how to” book. I’m not sure what I expected. How to be compassionate in three easy steps, maybe? Once I got over that I absolutely loved this book. The author interviewed those who are compassionate and people who received compassion in different circumstances ranging from a man who donated his kidney to a prison inmate to an ape colony. His journey leads you to think about how compassion defines you. It definately inspired me to be more compassionate. This is a book that got my mind going in so many different directions that I think I need to go back and read it again in order to sort out my thoughts. Maybe I’ll do a chapter by chapter synopsis of my ideas in order to try to get a coherent entry out of this. Stay tuned!