This morning, I got to put the Dalai Lama's lessons on compassion into actual practice: I helped a friend who was having some trouble with studying. He was studying for an exam that was coming up and was quite distraught. Normally, I would have probably made an excuse to myself, like that I was too busy finishing my own work. But then I remembered that compassion is not about doing grand things; it's being there, showing up when it counts.