Compassion as Self Care

When I was in recovery from heroin addiction, I learned how to practice mindfulness during my self-care routine, which I frequently talk about in the Halo 42 blogs. Among the many benefits that come from mindfulness, including stress and anxiety reduction, I have developed a newfound understanding of self-compassion, a term often misunderstood. I’m going to explain compassion, its benefits, and provide you with some actionable steps you can take to bring compassion into your own life through your self-care routine.

Compassion comes from the Latin root word com-pati, meaning “to suffer with,” and if that’s the meaning of compassion, then how do we apply this to the suffering that is already happening within ourselves?

What are the benefits of compassion?

Compassion allows us to become better friends, partners, parents, leaders, teachers, and community members. If you look at the influential figures in history that are known for their compassionate nature, they tend to be great leaders for religious, political, or human rights movements. These leaders take the struggles and burdens of others, just like a parent does for their child, in hopes of spreading a message of love, positivity, and change through compassionate actions.

How can we have compassion with our selves?

Your skincare routine is the catalyst for change to have love and compassion within yourself.

Step 1

Recognize that your skin does not define you and that your skin is your protector. Your skin acts as a barrier against all things environmentally damaging. It absorbs and fights against external pollutants like dirt, toxic chemicals, radiation, and harmful UV rays on a daily basis. Our skin is suffering!

Step 2

The living being of your skin is not suffering. I’m not talking about your digestive or cardiovascular system; I’m talking about the seat of your soul. I’m talking about the voice inside. This thing is not suffering. This spirit is just as perfect as it was when it was born and will remain flawless no matter what you do. This is your inner light; this is your purity.

Step 3 

Now that you have separated yourself from your skin, I want you to look at your skin and I want you to notice in all the ways it is hurting. For me, I had spots on my face from picking, sores in my mouth, and my gums were bleeding from poor oral hygiene and smoking chemicals. Mindfully and gently, let your skin know that you are giving it care that can improve its hardships. Through consistent care in this way, myself and many others have learned to find the glow and put on a halo, and now it’s time for you to do the same.

As you begin to practice this with yourself, take it out into the world. Accept yourself, accept others, put on your halo, and embody beauty.