I was thinking of a phrase as a title to grab people;s attention but I just couldn’t post it: ‘Just face it you’re a nobody’. Because that is the utter antithesis of everything I believe in. Being a nobody is not possible in my view; everyone has significance, just because they are human and everyone has the capacity to change. And if they do not choose to change bad behaviour, then others can make deciusions to protect themselves and others.
It is so easy to label ourselves and others. Mistakes, addictions, repeated patterns can lead us to despair. But compassion and self-care are especially important in a pandemic.
I particularly like the title of a chapter in a book I admit not to have read
Self-compassion: Embracing suffering with kindness (Kristin Neff K., Davidson O. 2016).
Being compassionate to oneself is sometimes not suffering in silence. It is reaching out one’s hand for another to hold. It is seeking support (The Samaritans are amazing 116123). It is simply asking for an embrace, albeit a virtual one from another human.
I think we have all suffered in some way shape or form and my post today is being kind to us and others. Let us not judge, but rather know that when people make mistakes and really stuff up, probably they feel dreadful about it and a kind word or gesture might make a huge difference to someone’s day, especially if the person is ourself.
References
Neff, K., Davidson O., (2016)Self-compassion: Embracing suffering with kindness. Chapter taken from Mindfulness in Positive Psychology 1st ed.Routledge.
Journey into Hope 