the.com/caring
the quiet superpower that costs nothing and outlasts everything you'll ever buy
means feeling and showing genuine concern for the wellbeing of someone or something.
from From the verb "care," which traces back to Old English "caru" — and here's the surprise: that word meant grief, sorrow, anxiety, a heavy weight on the mind. To care for someone once meant to be troubled and burdened on their behalf. The Germanic roots (related to Old High German "chara," lament) all carry this note of worry. Over centuries the sorrow softened into solicitude — but the bones are honest: caring has always meant letting someone else's troubles become your own.
- brain chemistry
- caregiving releases oxytocin, lowering stress and blood pressure
- longevity link
- people who help others tend to live longer
- contagious act
- witnessing kindness inspires others to pay it forward
- animal world
- elephants comfort distressed herd members with touches
- burnout risk
- caring too hard without rest exhausts even the strongest
mother teresa — nun who worked with the poorest in calcutta for 45 years, winning the nobel peace prize in 1979
paul farmer — physician who founded partners in health and treated tuberculosis in haiti, rwanda, and peru for 30 years
nicholas winton — british stockbroker who saved 669 children from czechoslovakia before world war ii