\u201cIf you compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete\u201d, The Buddha<\/i><\/p>\n
Many years ago I heard a speaker in chiropractic say that the profession was unique in that whenever we\u2019re under attack, our response has always been to circle the wagons and shoot\u2026in (i.e. at one another, just in case you weren\u2019t raised on John Wayne movies like I was). Alas, things don\u2019t seem to have changed much since then. \u201cDivide and conquer\u201d might be an effective strategy if you\u2019re planning an invasion or takeover, but it\u2019s undoubtedly not a rational thing to do to ourselves. Especially over and over and over again.<\/p>\n
That pattern continues to sadden me, and lots of judgments come up about it (because naturally I know who\u2019s really right), but I\u2019ve come to a point in my life where whenever I get triggered about something \u201cout there\u201d, I look within myself to see if the same pattern exists in me. It\u2019s a bit nauseating how often I find it. And in this case, I can clearly see that I have often employed the same futile strategy in my own life.<\/p>\n
<\/a>How often have I been a house divided when \u201cunder attack\u201d, conducting an argument between parts of myself, every one of them either convinced it was right or ashamed it was wrong? How often have I given myself flack when I needed some slack? How often have I beat myself up when I needed an ally? How often have I been my own adversary instead of my own advocate? Especially when I\u2019ve needed an advocate the most?<\/p>\n Can I ever be compassionate with others until I\u2019ve given myself some first? Can we as chiropractors ever develop the compassion to honor each other\u2019s opinions and paths enough so that we might someday unite in any meaningful way? Can we as members of the human race do that? Can we ever do it until we\u2019ve united all our pieces as individuals with compassion and love?<\/p>\n So I humbly offer the invitation to all of us to send some compassion to ourselves today. Tomorrow would be OK too. Not pity or sympathy, but unconditional love. Imagine how our Innate (Spirit) would talk to our Educated (ego), and let\u2019s talk to ourselves that way. Let\u2019s affirm that when all the pieces of you and I get together on the same team, we are both unstoppable. And when they stay together under any \u201cattack\u201d, they can work together to bring about the most loving outcome that serves everyone. Let\u2019s circle the wagons and shoot love in so we can shoot compassion out to each other and to the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cIf you compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete\u201d, The Buddha Many years ago I heard a speaker in chiropractic say that the profession was unique in that whenever we\u2019re under attack, our response has always been to circle … Continue reading