Like the moon, personal energy waxes and wanes. Shining takes a lot of energy and cannot be sustained indefinitely unless conditions are ideal. And there are rarely ideal conditions in the physical world.
Whomever said a smile has no cost has never attempted to exert compassion when every fiber of your being wants to choose the easier route of negativity and reactivity.
Compassion fatigue is felt in those moments when your glow is dimming and your energy flagging. When being kind seems to be hard and the lure of spite and malice is infinitely inviting. Being a caregiver, whether professionally or personally, takes a steep toll over time if time isn’t taken to recover, recharge, and restore.
It’s ok to disappear. To retreat to a safe place to lick wounds and to heal. Better to hide a while than to become someone you don’t like when your glow is being overshadowed by the pressures of the world as a whole or through specific events and specific shadows.
A glimmer will always remain and that spark can be fanned back into brilliant abundant joy when ready. And the moments of solitude always have meaning and lessons that add to the intensity of the flame.
Learning the signs of both fatigue and recovery, and honouring the need to rest and the need to shine, is a worthy skill to cultivate. Even the sun has cycles of higher and lower output and knowing the patterns gives guidance to our farmers! Tend to yourself by knowing your patterns and respecting them.
This is Synergy 