Compassionate Honesty

The responses to Donald Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis were fast and furious. Some were supportive while others were not. Yet another group of people took the road of neutrality. Needless to say, this was a hot topic. As I reflected upon my first reaction to his illness, I asked myself how compassion would call us to respond? A little voice whispered, “With the compassion of enough+.”

I am the kind of person who reframes every challenge into a life lesson. For me, a challenge is a situation or occurrence that calls me to use my skills and talents to live from my best self to overcome obstacles. A challenge is a paving stone on the road of soul purpose. Challenges can be huge and life changing or small course corrections. Most challenges are found somewhere in between.

The compassion of enough+ asks us to courageously and honestly confront our thoughts and feeling about any particular situation. Take a moment to reflect upon your strong feelings regarding the Trump diagnosis or reflect upon some thing else for which you have strong feelings. Choose something with the intent to understand the lessons the challenge is presenting.

With compassionate honestly, name how you are feeling. Dig deep into it. Be objective about what you find. This means don’t defend or judge. Gather information. Notice what illusions are surfacing. Notice the triggers without reacting. Realize that sometimes our internal monologue carries us away. We react. But, when we anchor into our core and listen to our intuition, there is less of an opportunity for us to be carried on the current of reaction.

What does happen is that we honestly name our triggers and neutralize any shame, anger, fear, or anxiety that we may be feeling. We use the power of our anger to formulate a response. This is foundational not only to compassionate honesty but also to the compassion of enough+. Through this practice we say to another, “I love you enough to allow you to experience your own challenges and their companion suffering. I stand by you while not interfering as you learn from your suffering and emerge stronger.”

The compassion of enough+ asks that we practice self care in ways that increase our awareness. Only through intuitive awareness do we notice how we slip into reaction or stay strong in compassionate response. We connect to our core as we allow another to experience their challenges.

Compassionate honesty demands that we fashion our compassion into a vessel of support. This isn’t about saying the right, enabling words. It is about understanding that suffering has a purpose. Within our suffering is the potential of learn our life lessons and step more securely upon our path of soul purpose.  

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an Intuitive-Coach-Catalyst, who uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for personal and relationship transformation. She is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Contact Vanessa for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs. 

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