THIS IS DEDICATED TO THE COMPASSIONATE WOMAN

THE THREE WAYS COMPASSION SHAPES OUR LIVES:

Compassion is essential to our humanity and is expressed when we feel and show loving kindness, care, and concern for the well-being of others and ourselves. It helps us builds healthy relationships, communities, and a better world. There are three ways our compassion flows through us:

• • Giving compassion toward others
  • Receiving compassion from others
  • Being compassionate with ourselves

Giving compassion to others is something we all ideally strive to do. It’s when we recognize and acknowledge the suffering, pain, and challenges that others are facing and respond with empathy, kindness, and support. Our compassion towards others builds and strengthens our relationships, enhances unity and collaboration, and improves the overall well-being of ourselves and everyone we touch. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.

Receiving compassion from others is just as important. You may be surprised to reflect that receiving may be more challenging sometimes. We can feel compelled to want to give and do everything ourselves, and we can even push help away because we may not know how to ask for what we need, and others aren’t sure how they can help. Ideally, we want to be able to accept and acknowledge the kindness, empathy, and support that others offer us. Receiving compassion from others helps us feel validated, seen, and heard. It builds trust and connection and creates a sense of belonging and acceptance. It’s a beautiful exchange of energy that multiplies throughout the field when it flows.

Being compassionate with ourselves can be the most challenging and valuable skill for most of us to learn and embody. With self-compassion, we recognize and acknowledge our own suffering, pain, and challenges and turn toward ourselves with tender, loving kindness and empathy while listening to our inner guidance. Many of us have, unfortunately, normalized self-criticism and negative self-talk for generations. Remembering to be compassionate towards ourselves can be challenging, especially when we face difficult situations – but it’s an invaluable practice. It’s critical for our mental, emotional, and physical well-being. It helps us cultivate resilience, improve our intuition, and bring a sense of providence, well-being, and inner peace. 

Some of us naturally give compassion to others effortlessly, while others can more easily receive it. A helpful practice is to check in with yourself regularly to avoid going into a spiral of over-giving or over-receiving. Over-giving can lead to burnout and exhaustion while over-receiving can lead to dependency and a lack of competence. Finding a balance between giving and receiving is essential, and extending loving kindness toward ourselves is just as important as being compassionate toward others. With practice and intention, we can cultivate a balanced sense of empowered compassion, flowing our energy in a natural balance of giving to others, receiving from others, and giving to ourselves. This balanced flow can help us all thrive, even and especially in life’s most challenging moments.