Be kind.

How compassion saved me from dark times.

Compassion doesn’t always come easy. In fact, there are some days when it’s easier to stay in bed, cuddle with the dog, and bask in the apparent truth that the world is simply a dark place and that humans are largely beyond help.

I recently spent a good month in that place. I was rescued, yes, by my amazing friends, but also…somewhat weirdly…by my job.

Avalokiteshvera Thankga, from Traditional Art of Nepal

I work in a clinical setting that provides folks with access to reproductive and sexual health care. It can be…demanding. Especially when dealing with personal issues. Especially when dealing with relationship issues. The boundaries are difficult to hold in place when your heart is broken and your mind is tired, when the appeal of a dark room and melancholy solitude is almost impossible to resist, when you have to expend tremendous attention and compassion for this total stranger when all you want is to be held while you cry. Somehow, you have to find and hold those boundaries. You have to be able to demonstrate kindness and understanding even when you feel empty and broken. And it has to feel genuine, which (at least for me) means it has to, somehow, be genuine.

And so, I learned a thing.

You must.

You must find compassion for that person. You must stand with your feet in your deep…