Compassionate Parenting: Apply it to everyday life

I was doing a lot of reading yesterday, and came across a few websites and articles about compassionate parenting. Reading through them gives you that "well duh how did I not think of that??" feeling, and to be honest, made me feel like a bad and mean parent.

Not a happy feeling. But then I got to thinking...

If we can be compassionate towards our children, why can't we be compassionate towards one another?

Is it so hard to take a little bit of time out of our day to take notice and care about the feelings and emotions of those around you? Particularly those who you are close to?

When we are upset, we tend to get selfish and self centred and feel that the world is being mean to us. It's not, it's just our emotions playing games, and interpreting things wrong. Try thinking back to the last time you were angry. Take a step back and think about why you felt that way.

Say you had a fight with your significant other about dishes. Was it really about dishes, or was there something else? Were you being defensive because you don't like being argued with? I get that sometimes, I will admit it. I'll get defensive because I don't like being shown why something I've done is wrong.

But that's life. We have to do things wrong sometimes to learn. Learning is the most important we can do as humans, because it advances us and makes us pay attention to what's around.

Can you take a step back while you're upset? Not always. But if you realize after the fact, and discuss it with the person who made you upset, maybe you can find a way to keep it from happening again.

Isn't it worth a little extra effort if it makes everyone's day easier?

I'm going to try. Are you?

Peace and serenity,

Simply Me

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