“Self-love, self-respect, self-worth: There’s a reason they all start with self. You can’t find them in anyone else.” – Rob Liano
What does compassion mean? To me compassion is kindness, understanding, and taking action. Currently, given the state of society, I feel it is especially important to show compassion in our everyday lives. We act compassionately towards friends and family, strangers and to those who are in need. But what about ourselves? I think that we tend to forget about giving compassion to ourselves. Without showing kindness and understanding to our own self and needs, how are we supposed to accomplish compassion for others?
Right now, we are living in different times. Not only are we living through a pandemic but an uprising of injustices. There is a lot going on in our world and many people are struggling with the uncertainty of everyday life. And as hard as it is to do, slow down and take a breath… Self care is important. The past few months have been a good reminder for myself that I need to take care of myself, take time for myself, and to be compassionate towards myself. For me to be able to be successful, I know that I need some self-care. Self-care does not have to be indulgent, extravagant, or outlandish. It can be as simple as going for a walk, drinking some water, or taking deep breaths. In fact, right now I want you to take five breaths. Breathe in for five seconds and out for five seconds.
Take some time for yourself today. You will thank yourself later.
The Compassion Project: Let us be the ones who transform our world by allowing compassion to lead our action. Throughout the year, this column will feature the various ways to have compassion for others, for our specific organization, and for yourself.
