Audacious Compassion 019 – Bobblehead of Starbuck

How do you show compassion when a tragedy happens to someone you don’t know well?

Our prompt comes from a listener:

How to express compassion when someone you know, but not that well, is going through something rough. The instigating situation is the husband of one of my coworkers passed away, and some of my other coworkers seem to be at a loss as to what to do. How much to say, what to say, etc. If you don’t know someone very closely, but you do like and care about them, how do you help them?

We also talk about The Worriers and Dying Light.

Please share any comments you have! If you have a submission of an everyday situation where it’s hard for you to be empathetic or compassionate, write us at: us@avery-weir.net

Audacious Compassion 018 – A Perfectly Good Strategy

How do you understand and handle your own rash emotional reactions in everyday situations?

Our prompt comes from Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange user Yvette Colomb (original and abridged version ccbysa3.0):

I’ve always had a short fuse. I’ve been quick to rise and lose my temper, but on the flip side I’m quick to get over it when others lose their cool. The problem is that others usually are not, especially if they are on the receiving end of it.

Having a short temper and saying things in anger is the number one cause of the relationship difficulties in my life, and it’s caused more problems and heart ache than I could possibly set out to achieve if I was consciously trying to do so.

Most importantly, it can happen with family or close friends, when somehow a discussion leads to someone making an insult towards me (which I don’t tolerate well) and from there it can escalate. There are definitely certain topics that will frequently lead to these types of escalations, as well as when I don’t want to discuss something and the person persists. It can also happen when the other person argues with me – about who I am or my motive for saying or doing something – and their opinion is negative.

I have great difficulty expressing my irritation without it escalating between the other person and myself to a point I do not manage well emotionally.

What can I do to help circumvent or prevent my anger building to a point I lose my temper and say things I regret? What skills can I use to exit the discussion gracefully to find space to calm?

We also talk about Sunless Sea and “The Discipline of DE” by Gus Van Sant and William S. Burroughs.

Please share any comments you have! If you have a submission of an everyday situation where it’s hard for you to be empathetic or compassionate, write us at: us@avery-weir.net

Audacious Compassion 016 – I Don’t Even Have Cutlery

How do people in a community choose to be disruptive or considerate?

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Audacious Compassion 014 – Weird Abusive House Ghosts

How do you understand requests for attention and help others understand your boundaries?
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Audacious Compassion 013 – Dull Food Piece

We’ve had a year of Audacious Compassion episodes! Let’s review some of the recurring themes in our chats!
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