

on the hunt for varieties of strengths
I start my day with a loving kindness meditation. “May you be safe. May you be strong. May you live with joy. May you be peaceful and it at ease.” I wish these things for myself, my loved ones, strangers, enemies, and all beings. I learned this meditation technique...

Share your strengths with compassion
I am considering the kind promise “I will share my strengths compassionately.” The last word in that promise makes all the difference. Last week, I encouraged myself (and you) to show up in life as is – warts and all – knowing that by revealing our authentic selves,...

share the gift of you
This month, I am exploring the kind promise “I will share my strengths compassionately.) Several years ago, a woman in a good mood got on the bus. She chattered happily, explaining that she had just finished her volunteer shift at a nursing home. Residents there were...

discovering emotional layers
Every now and then, someone’s words land in my heart with the resonance of a temple gong. “Pay attention!” they whisper urgently. “This applies to you.” Yesterday, the words were: “We live, we die, this infuriates us—but far better that it saddens sus, and that we...

finding self-compassion for my ill body
Recently, a nurse practitioner told me I should spend more time in bed. Last July, I received a pressure wound because of an emergency surgery. Almost a year later, that wound has yet heal properly. The best “medicine” would be for me to lie in bed, taking the...

three elements of self-compassion
Dr. Kristin Neff is a famous evangelist of self-compassion. She says it includes three elements: self kindness vs. self judgment, common humanity vs. Isolation, and mindfulness vs. over-identification. I entered my adulthood with an unhealthy habit it of...
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