Self-Compassion

Why is it so hard?

For many of us, compassion for others, especially those closest to us, comes easily. And yet, when we relate to ourselves, it can be much harder to feel kindness and acceptance, especially when we fail or make mistakes. Even when we are grieving, it can be easy to judge ourselves for not acting or feeling the way we believe we should. All the years I went to church, I heard a lot about “loving thy neighbour as yourself” but nothing about how to love ourselves. I decided to fill in this missing piece, so I wrote a sermon about self-compassion and delivered it on Mother’s Day of 2019. This sermon does talk about God and Jesus, but it also looks at a variety of perspectives, so it should be interesting to people of various spiritual beliefs. Feel free to take the Bible stories literally or metaphorically. It can be enjoyed on either level. You absolutely don’t have to believe in anything spiritual to be able to take advantage of self-compassion.