Extra Points ~ Kindness and Compassion

Last Friday, our area was touched by the tragedy of another school shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School near Seattle. As I write this, the young man who was the shooter is dead, and 4 are in critical condition in area hospitals. The shock reverberates throughout a community and renders most of the rest of daily life not nearly as important as it was before.

Marysville-Pilchuck was scheduled to play a football game that night against my alma mater, Oak Harbor to determine the league champion The playoffs are set to start next week, so making up a game was basically impossible, especially since the school was going to be shut down for the week. Oak Harbor, in a show of remarkable sportsmanship, forfeited the game, thus giving Marysville-Pilchuck the league title. Both schools move on to the playoffs, yet the thing that will be remembered by everyone involved is the class act of the rival school. I can say I am one proud Wildcat.

We all deal with our own private crises from time to time. Most of us are really good at showing compassion to others. Recent events ranging from floods, to hurricanes, to bombings have shown our resilience for our fellow human beings. My question to you this Monday morning is this – how much compassion and kindness do you show yourself? All too often, we are the worst friend and boss to ourselves. Lack of self-worth, fear, and bad experiences often keep us from showing compassion and kindness to ourselves when we make our own mistakes, or are dealing in our own crises. Take a cue from how you would deal with others…do the best you can, learn from your mistakes, and don’t be so hard on yourself. Having a healthy dose of self-worth and compassion will allow you to be resilient through any crisis.

© 2014 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved