Compassion for mistakes

Recently I’ve watched a few public figures make public mistakes. I keep finding myself thinking about how people responded to it. Reading hateful/shaming comment after comment left me wondering why people felt like this was okay.

This happens in small ways- in our own lives as well. How do we approach someone who’s made an error? Do we feel like now we have an excuse to unleash our anger and act with disregard for the human before us? Or can we get in touch with our sense of compassion, and allow that to guide us in how we will respond to a mistake.

I am NOT saying allow compassion to mislead you or blind you or stifle your own feelings. I’m also not advocating not taking care of yourself or not holding those around you accountable and to a standard of treating you well. We must do those things to live authentically. But leading with compassion can shift how we respond and what we do to other’s mistakes - and ironically impact and help in our own healing.

There is a lot to be said for holding on to our compassion when we are feeling wronged. It’s a powerful thing to allow to spill over into the stickier parts of life.