Cultivating Compassion
“In addition to receiving and being sensitive to compassion from others, we need to develop the capacity to be sensitive to our own suffering and commit to trying to relieve and prevent it, hence self-compassion is important” (Gilbert, 2019, p. 110). When I was a kid, I used to read a lot of books. In…
Compassion, a vital emotion in our evolution, has its limitations according to Gilbert (2019). These limitations often lead us to care more for those close to us, while being more reserved towards strangers. However, in today’s diverse and globalized societies, this bias impedes the development of compassion. Gilbert suggests “breaking through these evolved boundaries around caring…
Growing up in Sri Lanka, I learned a lot about compassion from both my culture and personal experiences. Buddhism, which is a big part of Sri Lankan culture, teaches us to be kind and understanding. However, society often expects us to hide our weaknesses and strive for perfection. This made it hard for me to…
Wilding (2021) mentioned that being too harsh on ourselves is not only unproductive, but it is also difficult to break the habit of being negative. It calls for constant focus and repetition. If self-criticism gets out of control and becomes severe, it can be harmful to our mental and emotional health. To some degree of…