Compassion comes from acceptance. And the hardest thing to accept is ourselves.
Our thoughts create emotions and memory experiences in our bodies. Often, when we think of a person who has hurt us in the past and the things that led to desperate situations (the negatives), we feel upset, angry, hurt, exasperated, etc.
It’s easy to stay in the negatives and carry these emotions to feel certain (and self-righteous: they are wrong, and I am right), but we also have the option to live with waking. Take a step back, and notice:
I accept my thoughts.
I accept my hurt.
I accept that no matter how much I want to be empathic and compassionate, I will have these thoughts because I am only a human.
I accept myself.
When we can be compassionate towards ourselves, we find a way to look at others and the world around us.
Compassion doesn’t mean no principles and values, but the opposite. Carrying our principles and values in a way that allows us to see other people and their struggles, and we still make things better.
