Several years ago, Anita, a regular participant at my Mindful Mondays at the Crestwood Library at that time, handed me a note she kept taped to her desk. “You always remind us to be compassionate with ourselves,” she said, “and I wanted to share this with you.”
The note, from The New York Times, read:
“Self-compassion – treating ourselves with kindness and understanding in the face of our mistakes and failures.”
A statue and picture of Quan Yin, the Goddess of Compassion, where I practice Reiki in Rye, N.Y.
I love this definition.
Especially for those of us with perfectionist tendencies, treating ourselves with kindness isn’t always easy. When things don’t go as planned, compassion is rarely the first response. How often have you heard:
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Be gentle with yourself.”
But that’s so hard to follow!
“How can you love yourself more?”
first floated into my awareness several years ago after a deeply relaxing private Yoga session with Patty from the Yoga Garden in White Plains. Recently, after an especially intensive and challenging time, I remembered that question and started to play with it again. This May, I invite you to do the same.
✨ Listen to what comes up.
✨ Notice what brings you joy.
✨ Become aware of what distracts you.
✨ Explore how you can invite more stillness into your life.
If you haven’t already, I also invite you to listen my Tune into Your Body meditation. It’s just nine minutes—a simple way to get out of your head and back into your body. If you prefer a more hands-on approach, a Reiki session can provide the space to relax your nervous system, tune into your body, and help you return to a sense of balance and compassion.
May you experience KINDNESS, COMPASSION & EASE – today and every day.