Compassion

I recently attended an online Compassion Café event.

The host was in the UK, so the session began at 9 a.m. BST, which meant a 5 a.m. start for me in Bermuda. Yes, 5 a.m. I was determined to be part of the conversation, so I woke up at 4:40 a.m., made some coffee, and sat down ready to listen.

I’m glad I did. One question that stayed with me was: What does compassion mean in everyday life? We were sent into breakout rooms to reflect with someone else. I was paired with Romzan, a refugee from Myanmar living in Bangladesh with his family. He shared what it has been like living through the civil war in his homeland, ongoing since 2021. I listened with care as he spoke. I then shared a little about Bermuda, a place he had never heard of.

For a few minutes, we held space for each other’s stories. We didn’t try to solve or fix. We simply listened with compassion.

One of the most powerful insights from the Compassion Café was the reminder that compassion grows when we begin with ourselves. Think about the moments when you’ve already offered yourself patience, gentleness, or care. What made that possible?

By noticing and celebrating those moments, we can create more of them. True compassion is not one-sided. It flows inward and outward, strengthening our capacity to care for others when we first honor our own needs.

So here is the invitation: remember a time when you spoke to yourself with encouragement and kindness. How did it shift your energy? When you allowed yourself to rest, what opened up for you afterward? As you move through your day, how might you bring that same energy of compassionate presence into your conversations with others? Each of these small, intentional choices has the power to weave compassion more deeply into daily life, nourishing both ourselves and the people around us.

Here is a question for you to consider as you explore compassion throughout September.

What is one small act of compassion you can practice today, for yourself and for someone else?