This originally started as a post for my Empowerment Lounge FB Group... but I quickly realized that it was something that should be shared on the blog instead.
I stopped by The Spunky Cauldron today to pick up supplies for the Chakra class... and these cards jumped off the shelf and demanded that I purchase them 🙂 how fitting that the first card I see from the deck is “Compassion”.
It’s a not so gentle nudge to remind me to have compassion for myself these days.
We are our own harshest critics, we beat ourselves up for things that have happened in the past - trust me, I am no different. I have become a master at kicking my own ass through out the years.
The book describes this card as “the Latin word for compassion literally means ‘co-suffering’.
This card is NOT an invitation to suffer, but rather to allow yourself & others to rise up beyond sufferings through the light of genuine empathy and understanding.
The call to compassion is a call to accept people & situations for who they are and where they are at. As we let go of judgement and the need to ‘fix’ a situation or to label things as good or bad, we begin to realize that every situation carries with it a gift and that we each have unique lessons to learn”
Throughout the last few years of doing Empowerment Photography, the common thread with all of my clients has always been my ability to not only empathize with my clients, but also to accept them where they are... so why can I not accept myself where I am right now? Why am I fighting the "suffering" that I inevitably feel right now - at this time in my life? Because like learning how to play an instrument, Compassion takes practice. I wasn't always a compassionate person towards others, I am literally a reformed "mean girl". It took me years of openly trusting others, meeting them where they were - instead of where I thought they should be.
So after many tears shed, followed by a fantastic dance party with my girl Rihanna... its time to start practicing a little self-compassion.