Cultivating Compassion – even when it’s hard

Wednesday Wellness: Cultivating Compassion (Even When It’s Hard)

It’s easy to provide warmth, caring, and compassion to those we love or to those who are perceived as innocent or non-threatening. But, what happens when it’s someone we don’t particularly like, disagree with, or that we perceive as challenging us? This…not so easy!

I recently had a situation with another human that I felt was escalating their demands on me and yet *not* acknowledging the amount of time and effort I was giving to them (which I thought was a lot). At some point anger arrived. And it started taking up a lot of my time! I was thinking about the situation, rehearsing what I wanted to say, and feeling my body move to tension. Been here?

If so —

Time to SLOW DOWN:

1. Write it down. Write all the things — as raw as they may be that are swarming around in your head. Get it out! This is integral to actually getting to the compassion step.
2. Pause. Really drop into the space of the other person. What might they be feeling? What do you imagine THEIR story is?

My human was scared, anxious, and just needed attention. Dropping into that allowed me to feel compassion for them rather than accused of not providing enough. Once I got there, I could find the words that honored me AND them. Now we can dialogue a better way through this, together.

But yes, this would have been easier with an elephant. 😉

Just a little note to remember those slowing down steps.

📸: Elephant sanctuary, India.