According to the Cambridge Dictionary, care is defined as “the process of protecting someone or something and providing what that person or thing needs.” But why do we care? In a piece in the New York Times entitled “We May Be Born with An Urge to Help,” Michael Tomasello, a developmental psychologist, suggests that helping is “a natural inclination, not something imposed by parents or culture.” Similarly, Frans de Waal, a primatologist, says, “We’re preprogrammed to reach out. Empathy is an automated response over which we have limited control.” Some simple ways to cultivate more care and compassion for ourselves and others include: volunteering, asking people ‘How are you’ and meaning it, starting a gratitude journal, integrating random acts of kindness into your everyday life, reaching out to an old friend or acquaintance, and spending more time in nature.

Read Full Story


More: