When I started my spiritual journey, one of the major lacks in my life was self-compassion. Which made it hard to forgive myself at the time, for mistakes I had made and my ability to move forward in my journey. I am a recovering perfectionist, like most of us are. If you are on a journey; spiritual or not developing self-compassion is key to ensuring you stay committed to your journey and you love yourself through it no matter what.
Growing our own self-compassion helps extend compassion outward and ignite our ability to empathize, give kindness and forgive more easily. Self-compassion draws us nearer to ourselves in a way no other practice can.
So how do you practice self-compassion, you ask?
You speak kindly to yourself. If you find yourself in a mental war and all you hear is an internal negative barrage of words. Stop, let the words pass and invite compassion in for a moment. Ask yourself, what is true in all these words? How can I love myself in this moment?
When you make a mistake (as we all will), like failing a test, getting in an argument with someone, sleeping in too late, saying the wrong thing in a work meeting, or forgetting someone’s birthday. If you start to beat yourself up, stop in that moment. Remember that you, me, and everyone in the rest of this gorgeous world is doing the absolute best we can. Forgive yourself in that moment, for getting upset with yourself. Apologize to the other party if necessary and make amends where you can, as soon as you can. But do not spend another moment, beating yourself up.
We need more people in this world practicing self-compassion, so we can build a more kind, forgiving and empathetic Earth. Each time we practice self-compassion, we teach our own ecosystem how to do it as well. The work we do within ourselves has ripple effects, even when we cannot see them.
Be gentle with yourself. Drink your water every day and breathe self-compassion.
Love + Light,
Krista Xiomara
Photo Credit: Erico Marcelino
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