The Compassion Diet, Week Fifty-Two in the New Abnormal

Should we end this year and start the new year with resolutions? For me, the answer is no. I will think of what I’d like to let go of, and how I will be caring to myself and others, but there is no declaration in that. What I have been thinking about as I view commercials and advertisements enticing us to try new weight loss pills and programs is the mixed up past I, and so many of us, have had with messaging around food, eating, and the lack of joy in caring for ourselves. In the spirit of that, I am thinking of a diet of compassion. Not a food diet, but nourishment, nonetheless.

When looking up the word diet, I found the restriction in its definition. But I also found that the origin of the word “diet” comes from the Greek word “diata” meaning “way of life.” I like that. We can incorporate compassion as a way of life. It’s a wonderful concept because it addresses all aspects of our lives. And, on this diet of compassion, we could bring compassion at any moment. If we find we’re being hard on ourselves, we can notice that. Then we can fold in compassion as a way of care as we go through something difficult.