We all see and hear the inequalities, hardships, unfairness and suffering of the human condition: the homeless, the fleeing, the starving, the drowning. It’s impossible to escape, and it’s overwhelming. But there is a whole other world of suffering and fear out there, one that is quiet and patient but just as desperate. It is almost invisible, but shouldn’t be. Hopefully these words will serve to make visible and bring attention and action to those who find themselves in this hard space.

As happens in the busy, noisy, needy world we all inhabit, there are moments when instinct overrides reason, and compassion rules over judgement, and we place the coins in the hat or buy the trinket we don’t need. Recently, in one of those moments, I responded to a call for help. Not on a whim, but from a guttural sense of needing to make a difference and be of service.

A friend is suffering. She needs a kidney. I have one to give. It might be a match.

It was a simple decision and easy call to answer.

The fact that we live on different continents is immaterial. Isn’t this why the Internet exists? To enable communication and exchanges of information? Across hemispheres and time zones, via flurries of emails and text messages, we are together navigating the bureaucracy that will lead to the hard part of this uncertain journey, the needles and scalpels and scars. Or maybe not. Watch this space!

Whatever the outcome, already I have encountered brave dignity in a desperate situation, selfless generosity, faith, gratitude and kindness. I have caught a glimpse of a world where people support each other graciously. I find myself on a path that I know will change my life for the better, no matter the outcome.

I am discovering that compassion is a human condition too.