Editorials / Opinions

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." ~ The Dalai Lama

Having compassion for others is essential, if you are going to attract the things you want in your life. If you just care about your own needs, you will wind up repelling those people and circumstances you seek.

A compassionate person cares about other people. Whenever possible, a compassionate person tries to lend a hand to those in need. The person lacking compassion views life as a competition where people have to fend for themselves. Their attitude is that if someone else has problems, that's their problem.

Although each person has to take responsibility for his or her own life, and each of us should be self-reliant, we also have a responsibility to be of service to others. Compassion is trying to understand someone else's circumstances along with a willingness to reach out to them. Just feeling sorry is not compassion.

There are many ways to show compassion. Some people donate money to organizations that support various causes from fighting poverty to medical research. This is certainly an effective way to show compassion. However, being compassionate is much more than financial generosity.

With some awareness, you can show compassion in many ways that will mean a lot to the other person. Your actions don't have to be elaborate to be significant. But your actions do have to mean something to the other person. So, you have to look for what is important to someone else, not what is important to you.

Unfortunately, some people feel that they know what is best for others. They may be well intentioned, but their efforts are viewed as intrusive or disruptive. Judging another person based on your preferences, experiences, or beliefs, is not compassion. To be compassionate, you must try to look at the world from the other person's perspective, rather than your own.

Small gestures, at the right time, can mean the world to someone, even though to you the actions may be insignificant. Making yourself available for someone to talk to, being patient, sharing what you've learned from overcoming similar problems, running an errand, or giving a friend a ride, are just examples of what you can do.

When you show compassion, you help alleviate someone's suffering. Additionally, you will also feel good. Being compassionate should never be done with any ulterior motive or expectation of reward or payback.

When you genuinely care about the well being of others, you attract positive people and circumstances into your life. If you are callous, you will repel the positive and attract the negative. People who are uncompassionate are typically unhappy, with a miserable personality.

Having compassion should be a way of life. It only takes a little extra effort to make everyone's lives brighter. Those who are generous with their time and emotions are invariably more satisfied than those who are not.

Being compassionate doesn't take anything away from you, rather it provides you with a sense of satisfaction that is hard to get from anything else. Compassionate people have a limitless, priceless gift that can bring so much joy to others.

It's not difficult to show compassion. All you have to do is listen to other people and be sensitive to their needs. You can even bring a smile to a stranger. Hold a door open. Let someone in front of you when on line. Help carry packages. There is no act too small to be helpful.

Sincerely,

Bryan Golden

NOW AVAILABLE: "Dare to Live Without Limits," the book. Visit www.BryanGolden.com or your bookstore. Bryan is a management consultant, motivational speaker, author, and adjunct professor. Email Bryan at bryan@columnist.com or write him c/o this paper. © 2025 Bryan Golden

Rural communities are an integral part of Pennsylvania. The health of these communities and residents is in serious jeopardy and, with it, the wellbeing of the entire Commonwealth. Without strong rural communities, our state is weaker. Yet in just days, Congress could dismantle the very infrastructure that helps these communities thrive and stay healthy through support for the federal reconciliation bill, or the One Big Beautiful Bill, that has been approved by Congress. The bill is now under consideration by the Senate.

Medicaid, which provides health coverage for lower-income families, children, veterans, seniors and individuals with disabilities, is being targeted for a staggering $793 billion in cuts in Congress' budget reconciliation bill. In Pennsylvania, this would devastate Medical Assistance, the state's Medicaid program that supports nearly half of all birthing services and over half of nursing home residents.

The consequences of these proposed cuts will reverberate throughout every rural community in Pennsylvania. Without health insurance, people will delay or avoid care entirely, leading to worse health outcomes, higher costs for everyone involved – from the individual to the hospital, insurer and state – and potentially a shorter life span. A sinus infection could become a hospital stay. A manageable condition could become a medical emergency. A preventable cancer diagnosis could become fatal.

Rural hospitals serve a high number of Medicaid patients and will be affected by drastic cuts to the programs. Many of these hospitals are non-profit institutions that operate on tight margins. That means that if Medicaid coverage is reduced in rural areas, rural hospitals will provide care for more uninsured patients putting more of them in the red due to higher levels of uncompensated care. When the cost gets too high, they will close, meaning patients will have to travel even further for care and an important economic engine in the community will shutter. This will devastate our rural communities.

The threat does not stop with Medicaid. Other changes in the bill will make health coverage less accessible by eliminating key supports that help families manage the cost of premiums, especially for middle-class families and small business owners who rely on health insurance from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans.

This bill is not the only attack on the rural public health infrastructure. The President's 2026 budget proposes to eliminate the State Office of Rural Health, Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility and Rural Physician Recruitment programs. These initiatives provide essential support – through technical assistance, staffing and resources – to health systems that are already under pressure. Getting rid of these pillars of rural health support would be a gut punch to rural areas, which are already facing health crises and barriers to care.

We must act now. It is up to us – Pennsylvanians – to support and amplify the voices of our rural neighbors, bring their needs to the forefront of policy conversations and fight to protect key health services. We must come together and call on Congress to invest in rural health systems.

Access to health care should never be determined by your ZIP code. The stakes are high, but so is our resolve. Rural Pennsylvania deserves better. Let's see to it that Congress fights for us.

Sincerely,

Donna Greco, Pennsylvania Government Relations Director, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

Executive Committee, Pennsylvania Rural Health Association