Kindness, to Yourself

Hi there, we've all been there - someone says or does something that's an ouch, and we spend the next 5 or 6 hours, perhaps 5 or 6 days, in a derailed spiral where all we can think about is the slight, blowing it out of proportion and manufacturing past and future conversations to repay the transgression.

Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die'
    - Malachy McCourt (Actor Writer and Pub Owner)

As a career counseller, barely a day goes that I'm not (hopefully gently) guiding a client back to some form of perspective, out of that spiral by reminding them to speak to themselves with some compassion and kindness - using the same tone that they'd use to speak to their pets, or a child who has had a hard day on the planet.

There are times I too find myself howling at the moon; when my emotional fragility snowballs some innocuous aside from a friend into a personal insult. In a moment of clarity I pull myself together by speaking softly and kindly my hurting psyche (I call her 'my little girl').

This TED talk (13 mins) by Dan Harris is a terrific anecdote of his awakening, and how he learned to exercise self-compassion.

*****

And here's my favourite photo(s) from yesterday:

.

I started reading this:

 

And really enjoying this music, though I'm not the only one. A press release on Umusic.ca identifies Ludovico Einaudi as the biggest streamed classical artist of all time.