Susan Maciver convenor, adult counselling service, Chris McGregor counsellor, Jenny Robertson member, Tom C Russ member, Christine Wilson organisational consultant
Maciver S, McGregor C, Robertson J, Russ T C, Wilson C.
Compassion can be learnt and must be integrated into practice
BMJ 2015; 351 :h4602
doi:10.1136/bmj.h4602
Kindness
Every spring, a bluebird flies down our chimney, gets trapped in the flue, and makes a tremendous racket trying to free itself. But birds cannot fly vertically, so eventually the little fellow falls into our woodstove, exhausted and defeated. Then we gently rescue him, take him outside, and watch him fly away. Like the bluebird, mankind is trapped, unable to escape or ascend. And man is waiting for the gentle hand of kindness to lift him up.
Competing interests: No competing interests