The dictionary definition of compassion includes mention of sympathy. To have sympathy means having sorrow for someone’s misfortune. Compassion is the way that humans connect through their suffering. Everyone suffers a misfortune at least once in their life. Everyone can and likely will have sorrow at some point in their life. Instead of being separated by the surface levels details of our humanity, compassion is the way we get to the core of being human. At the core of being human there is a shared pain. We might want to judge, shun, and separate ourselves from others. What we cannot ignore is that we have suffered and know how it feels to suffer. Through compassion we can cut ourselves and others a break. There is a spiritual saying about finding compassion in others and turning to compassion instead of judgment. It’s easy for us to judge ourselves. We hold ourselves to high standards and forget that we are perfectly imperfect, inherently flawed. You never know what someone is going through. Similarly, you never know how much that smile costs. We can’t ever know what is going on in somebody’s head. When we judge people for being “perfect” we can’t know at what personal cost their apparent “perfection” comes. If we judge ourselves for not being perfect enough, for example, we forget our own costs, what we have been through, the sorrows we have faced. Self-compassion is a way to remind ourselves of what we have been through, to have a little more patience with ourselves as we grow. Being more compassionate with ourselves increases our personal sense of happiness with who we are, as we are. We can change the storyline that we aren’t good enough by recognizing we are good enough and that is good enough. As a result, we have more gratitude for who it is that we are, what it is that we are doing, and the life that we are living. Rather than feel pessimistic that we will never be good enough for anything or anyone else, we can feel more optimistic in realizing a few things:
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We have come so far already
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We are continuing to grow every day
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We can have patience with ourselves
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We can be kind to ourselves
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We never have to use drugs and alcohol again
We want to help you rewrite the story of your life. Oceanfront Recovery helps men discover the personal solutions hiding beneath addiction to create a new meaning in life and write addiction out. Call us today for information on our full continuum of care: (877) 279-1777
