Compassion Begins Within: The Power of Awareness

The world around us is spiraling out of control. We have lost the ability to connect, not just to others or our environments, but to ourselves. In an age of technology, for all its conveniences, we must ask: is what we have sacrificed worth it?

Yes, I am on social media. I’m writing this blog, after all. But technology didn’t deeply impact my life until I was pregnant with my second child, when smartphones became the norm. I reflect on the time I once had with my children, compared to today, and I feel that somewhere along the way, we have lost each other. For me, it was seeking escape without realising that was what I was doing. For my children, who have sensory challenges, the assumption from practitioners has often been to incentivise behaviour with screens. There is so much to be said about this, but I want to remain focused on my message.

Last night, I listened to Gabor Maté, and he said something that struck me: compassion comes when there is awareness. Last year, I had a revelation, one that I embodied rather than just understood intellectually.

I no longer run on guilt and shame, holding onto things that no longer serve me. I have the innate ability to give compassion to myself, even though I was not nurtured or shown love in the way that would have allowed me to naturally understand it.

I believe many of us in Western culture share this experience.

As a Christian, I often hear about the compassion of Christ, what He has done for us, how He loves us despite our sins, and how we should love and forgive one another. Yet, we often overlook a crucial aspect: compassion for ourselves. We have misinterpreted the message. We focus on the idea that we are sinners in need of grace,

but we rarely ask ourselves: how do we receive this compassion? How do we know we have been given this gift of freedom and love?

To truly embody compassion, we must first develop awareness. Only when we recognise and experience compassion within ourselves can we extend it authentically to others. Otherwise, are we truly acting from selfless compassion, or are we merely performing kindness because we know it is the right thing to do? This is the key difference, compassion that is an extension of ourselves versus compassion that is a cognitive act.

Much of the adversity we face, particularly from childhood, stems from not being kind to ourselves. In many conservative Christian circles, discussions of self-compassion are often dismissed as selfishness.

But how can we show kindness to others if we have never truly experienced it ourselves?

This was one concern I had with Maté’s message last night. “Be kind to yourself,” he said, as if it were that simple. And while it is true in essence, without awareness, without knowing how or understanding what that truly means, it remains just an idea. For those in despair, overwhelmed, and unable to help themselves, this message alone may not be enough.

Christ came to do what the law could not. He transformed an intellectual understanding into a lived experience.

No amount of reading or reasoning can bring about that shift within us. It is something we must feel, embody, and live.

This discussion may seem deep or vague, but really, the message is simple, in Matt 22:37 it reads :

“The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

There is no commandment greater than these.”

We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves, but first, we must know how to love ourselves.

May we seek that rest, develop awareness, and allow compassion to flow from within.

To explore this journey further, I invite you to read Unveiling: A Journey of Transformation and Compassion or learn more about Embodied Processing, a powerful approach to developing true compassion click here.