Self-Compassion

As we enter the new year self-compassion is on my mind & heart. Many of my clients struggle with offering themselves such a gift and for some it is a totally foreign concept. When I speak of self-compassion the thought that enters most minds is the idea of being kind to yourself; like saying positive words of encouragement and doing more self-care. Those are wonderful things to do, however, self-compassion is something we feel, it’s not just about what we do. I encourage you to invite yourself to FEEL self-compassion toward yourself.

One way to do this is, if you struggle with the concept, is to use your imagination.

Imagine you are outside in nature and you come across a hurt baby bird. Your natural instinct is to care for the bird. So you pick it up in a soft cloth to keep it warm and you stroke its feathers as you say gentle words to it. You feel so much care and gentleness for this hurt baby bird, you give it all the care and attention you possibly can. There is nothing wrong the baby bird did, we love it simply for what it is. Now imagine that that baby bird is you. How did it FEEL to care for the bird with such attentiveness and how would it FEEL to care for yourself with that same gentle attentiveness.

There is a softness and acceptance that I notice when I offer myself self-compassion. I encourage you to play around with this idea and let your imagination support you in the process. Notice how receptive you are or if you notice resistance. It can be a process to allow ourselves to take protective walls down and recieve.

Kristin Neff has many wonderful meditations on self-compassion and wrote the book (click this link) Fierce Self Compassion

May this be the start of a new year of greater Self-Compassion!