Audacious Compassion

How can you accept your feelings and still make intentional choices when you’re in an unpleasant situation? Our prompt comes from a listener: Dear Y’all, Help me not hate my puppy. My teenage son called me in a panic recently because our puppy had bitten him on the finger. It turned out that it was a … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 020 – Cute Cat Photo"

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 … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 019 – Bobblehead of Starbuck"

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 … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 018 – A Perfectly Good Strategy"

How do you manage your own and others’ grudges and longstanding grievances? Our prompt comes from Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange user Tinkeringbell (original and abridged version ccbysa3.0): About 8 years ago, we had some serious get-a-lawyer trouble with a couple of neighbors. I was in university at the time, and I have a general knowledge of what … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 017 – Holiday Cheer"

How do people in a community choose to be disruptive or considerate? Our prompt comes from an anonymous listener: Dear Y’all, I am a teacher struggling a bit with empathy for my students. Some situations are fairly minor. For example, I strongly dislike a student who constantly comes late to class and then takes up time … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 016 – I Don’t Even Have Cutlery"

How do you deal with someone who makes assumptions about people based on hasty categorization? Our prompt comes from Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange user Xander (original and abridged version ccbysa3.0): A close relative was recently engaged to this very sweet and friendly woman (aged 24) who happens to have a rather bad trait. She’s very quick to … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 015 – Four Pints in a Gallon"

How do you understand requests for attention and help others understand your boundaries? Our prompt comes from Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange user Mark (original and abridged version ccbysa3.0): Basically, I don’t have enough time. I have so many things I want to do (books to read, stories to write, pictures to draw, etc.) that I … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 014 – Weird Abusive House Ghosts"

We’ve had a year of Audacious Compassion episodes! Let’s review some of the recurring themes in our chats! We discuss: Having meta-conversations about an issue, Courtesy vs. kindness in the context of power, and Self-reflection to determine what your feelings actually are about an issue. We also talk about Restaurant to Another World and the … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 013 – Dull Food Piece"

How can you be compassionate (and act compassionately) toward someone with hateful views? We’re a little late this month, but our topic is a good one. It comes from an anonymous user, who asks: How about compassion for someone with very different and opposite world views? For example, I have an Islamophobic coworker. I know … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 012 – Your Soul Leaving Your Body"

How do you communicate in a group of friends with conventions that grate on your nerves? Our topic today is from our friend Zoë: How do I deal with a group of friends who engages in a behavior that you find frustrating (like, constantly interrupting or talking over each other) but no one doing it … Continue reading "Audacious Compassion 011 – Compassion for the Pooches"