Hello Bay Community,
Welcome to another school year! We hope you are taking the time to mentally and organizationally prepare and set yourself up for success. If you aren’t, or if things get stressful (as they inevitably will), what then?
We had the pleasure of speaking to our 10th graders during their orientation this past week, and the topic was all about self-kindness and self-compassion. We honor and value kindness at Bay, as our precepts reflect. We are often stressing kindness to others (which of course is important), but we don’t highlight enough that kindness also has to be towards oneself.
We shared with 10th grade some tips for how to slow down and practice self-compassion/self-kindness:
Think of a situation in life that is difficult or causing you stress.
See if you can actually feel/locate the stress in your body.
Say to yourself “this is a moment of suffering” or “this is stress” or even “this sucks”.
Say to yourself “suffering is a part of life” or “I’m not alone” or “we all struggle at times”.
Put your hands over your heart and be gentle with yourself, saying “May I be kind to myself” or “May I give myself compassion” or “May I learn to accept myself as I am”.
This is a mindfulness practice. Throughout this exercise, it’s important to acknowledge what is coming up without judgment. In doing so, we can mindfully acknowledge and notice what is difficult or stressful, while differentiating the inevitable stressors of life from ourselves intrinsically. Stress and discomfort are parts of life. It is up to us to equip ourselves and practice self-compassion to get through these moments with loving kindness.
Give it a try the next time stress comes in, as it will. Remember you are not alone. May you be gentle with yourself.
Take care of yourselves and each other.