Compassion | A Reflection

Podcast Companion Introduction

This reflection is a companion to my recent podcast conversation on The Creative Connection Podcast with Dawn Fackler, founder of Over Abundance of Light. After we recorded, I found myself sitting with what lingered. Not the information we shared, but the feeling beneath it. This piece is an invitation to slow down and reflect on compassion, not as something we offer outwardly, but as something we practice inwardly first.

The Reflection

When I used to think about the word compassion, I almost always thought of it as something outside myself. I imagined deep care for another person and a desire to help alleviate their suffering.

In 2019, when I began a certification course in teaching mindfulness, my understanding shifted. I learned that compassion is not only something we extend outward. It is also something we are invited to offer ourselves.

At the core of compassion is love. And mindfulness teaches us that to truly understand love toward another, we need to begin within. We need to learn how to treat ourselves with loving-kindness and care, especially in moments when it would be easier to be critical or dismissive.

That understanding deepened further when I was introduced to Dawn Fackler through a friend last November. As we spoke about her work and the Compassionate Conversations Summit, compassion began to take on another dimension for me, one rooted in conversation and presence.

If we allow ourselves to remain open and curious while listening to another person’s story, something subtle but powerful begins to unfold. We don’t just gain insight into their experience. We begin to notice where their story resonates with our own, where it challenges us, and where it invites us to soften.

When Dawn and I spoke in mid-December, we talked about how stories can become anchors during times that feel heavy or uncertain. We explored how grief is not limited to the loss of someone we love deeply. It can also surface when expectations are not met. When a career shifts in a direction we didn’t choose. When health changes invite a new path we never imagined.

As she shared her journey, I became more aware of the losses and transitions woven through my own life. Some were significant and visible. Others were quieter, layered over time, and easier to overlook. Yet all of them deserved acknowledgment.

What stayed with me most was this realization: compassion begins when we allow ourselves to be present with what is, without judgment and without urgency to fix or resolve it.

That includes our own stories.

By the time our conversation ended, I knew I wanted to create more space for this kind of listening. Not just through a summit or a podcast, but in everyday moments. In the way we speak to ourselves. In the way we listen to others. In the way we allow grief and hope to exist side by side.

Perhaps compassion, at its heart, is the willingness to remain present with ourselves and one another, even when there are no easy answers.

Listener Invitation

If this reflection resonates, I invite you to listen to my full conversation with Dawn on the podcast. In it, we explore why creating spaces for compassionate conversation matters, how story can offer hope during seasons of grief and transition, and what becomes possible when we allow ourselves to be fully seen and heard. You can also learn more about the Compassionate Conversations Summit and the intention behind it, if you feel called to continue the journey by following this link.

A question for you to consider,  Where might compassion be inviting you to turn inward right now?