Compassion; Children can teach some of us "adults" a thing or two!

I know the majority of women probably don't care the slightest about sports. And while I have faith that stereotype is currently changing, I still am in the minority as a woman when I say that "I LOVE football." While college football is my true passion (as a fan), I try to follow the NFL fairly closely as well. (It can be difficult when your favorite team is the Chiefs, but I'm no fair-weather fan so I will always cheer them on even when we aren't having the greatest season.) Whether you are a football fan or not, you are probably aware that the Super Bowl is coming up. But I'm going to step back in time to one of the two games that determined who is playing in this year's Super Bowl.

Journey back with me if you will to the NFC Championship game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants. Let's put aside the fuss prior to the game, concerning a politician confusing the San Francisco NFL team with the MLB team and announcing to his San Fran crowd that "The Giants are going to win!" (Who is this guy's PR/Speech Writer?) This game was responsible for a lot of chatter, mostly on Social Networks like Twitter, and most of it was not just negative...it was vulgar. One play in particular sparked direct threats from San Francisco "fans" not, as one would assume, to the team, but rather directed solely to ONE player on the team. In a matter of 3 seconds, the 49ers "fans" determined that this one player was responsible for the entire 4 quarters and OT ending in a San Fran loss.

First, might I say that I am appalled that grown adults would behave this way! Just another mark to add to the list of reasons why our children are not receiving the guidance and parenting they need...so many adults are still behaving like children themselves. In fact, after the article that I stumbled across today, I would go as far to say that many adults are behaving far worse than even a child would.

The young man who was the target of all these threats is named Kyle Williams. While I'm sure that he is absolutely terrified of what these people (I don't think it would be a stretch to call these people "crazy") might actually attempt if he lets his guard down, I hope that he was able to, in some way, read this letter from a 7-year-old boy.

Read a 7-year-old’s heart-melting letter to Kyle Williams

I truly hope that these "adults" will learn a lesson from this young child. His father said it perfectly..."If you feel this way, how sad do you think Kyle Williams is?" This child was able to show the one thing that we are all capable of and should be using on a daily basis: Compassion.

I challenge you to ask yourself this same question every time you are faced with a situation that makes you frustrated with someone because of a mistake they made, whether big or small; "If I feel this way, how must he or she be feeling about making the mistake?"

Compassion: Get some, and use it!