The Power of Compassion

Welcome to the beginning of it all, my first publication of this newsletter on loving yourself.

A dear friend proposed I speak a little about taking care of yourself emotionally.  This had me thinking of all the ways in which we can feel uncomfortable or painful emotions and put forth great efforts to kill, push away, or ignore them.  I too was guilty of this for much of my life, hating all the things that I felt and feeling completely lost in getting them to turn off or stop.

Through a humbling discovery, each of those emotions I was spending so much energy hating, were parts of myself trying to get my attention.  I was hating me, ignoring me, and shaming me for natural ways of feeling.

Compassion, the kind I could so easily feel for another who was struggling, became my antidote.  Like a soothing salve on a bleeding wound, holding compassion that I was feeling all the ways I did, I stopped the cruelty against myself.  

This gave me room to become curious, what had me feeling the uncomfortable things I felt?  Curiosity led me to discover that there were little insults, disrespects, or offenses occurring that I had ignored.  These painful emotions were trying to help me notice that I had become out of balance with my own dignity.

In this next week, day, or hour, notice if an uncomfortable or painful emotion arrises.  If so, what happened right before you became aware of the emotion?  What is this emotion inviting you to pay attention to?  Would compassion be helpful here?

I would love to hear what you noticed!