Is a day of compassion really possible when you have a bossy independent four year old, you are in the middle of master’s courses, you are teaching 60 students online that for the most part are on vacation instead of completing assignments, and to top it off, you are going on the seventh week of living at your parents’ house for the summer. Anyone that has experienced the latter; you know exactly how I feel.
Living an entire day of compassion, I am not going to lie, was not easy, and if I was to receive a grade for it, I would probably have received a “C”. Let me just say that I hate “C’s”, but would have received an “D” if it would not have been for the conscious effort I was making to be compassionate. There are things that occur that just push your buttons, and like in the book discussed previously this week, Radical Presence, buttons are our own “buttons”, they do not exist like a cosmic control panel, they are just an annoyance to us because of how things should be (O’Reilley, 1998). When I started to find myself going down the path of letting things “push my buttons”, my conscious effort of compassion kicked in somewhat, and deep breathes were the start. Instead of just making quick remarks without thinking before speaking, taking a few deep breathes seemed to help give my mind time to rethink what words I was going to let come out of my mouth. Deep breathing is not a cure, but a definite way of helping me from making quick remarks or decisions without first pondering.
Compassion, according to Merriam-Webster’s online, is a sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. My question to you all is, how can you have compassion for others, a want to alleviate their distress, when they are causing you stress?
Rachelle,
ReplyDeleteIt is really hard to be compassionate with so many stresses in our lives this summer. I guess it is that we are trying to do better and becoming conscience of our thoughts, actions and words. I think being away from home and our comfortable routines creates an extra challenge. We are all tired and weary. Maybe that is why Matt gave us this extra challenge today when he knows that is how all of our mental states are right now. I guess it is just something to strive for and to get better at.
Let me tell you that no one in my life pushes my buttons better than my daughter ;) Over the years she gets better and better at it - my husband just shakes his head at me. While I want her to be a strong, smart and independant woman - I don't want her to be that way with me I think lol
ReplyDeleteI think I'd go nuts living with my parents so I feel for you - sorry - at least it's over :)
And maybe it would help with set boundaries...
Have compassion for yourself and try to laugh it could be worse