Compassion is NOT weakness. Being compassionate doesn’t make you weak.
Having concern for the suffering of others. That’s what compassion is.
There is no weakness in that. That just means you’re connected with your emotions and your own experiences of difficulty, and you recognize the humanity in others.
It’s what you do with the compassion that is more telling. If you use your compassion wisely and with high-quality boundaries, that shows immense strength, actually.
For example, let’s say you know someone who has gone through something difficult, and you’ve been emotionally supporting them. Many of us have been in that position, especially those of us who are empaths!
Sometimes people are just going through a few rough weeks so you’re there with them.
Other times, it becomes clear that what they need is support by someone (like a coach or grief counsellor) who is professionally trained in helping people process difficult circumstances.
That is the moment where you can show you still care, while also being clear that they would benefit from someone who is trained to help people process their specific situation.
Distancing from an unhealthy relationship is compassionate
And if they insist on treating you like a therapist, then you can distance yourself. That is still compassion. Why?
Because enabling someone to avoid working through their trauma in a healthy way is not caring for them. That’s just you avoiding the discomfort of extricating yourself from an unhealthy interaction.
There’s nothing compassionate about that. That’s just taking the easy way out.
In contrast, compassion means that you can be there with someone without being their crutch. And if you find yourself becoming their crutch, you can practice great emotional courage by having an honest conversation, knowing that they may react in a way that feels unpleasant.
But ensuring that someone receives the actual support they need while you also recognize the appropriate limitations and boundaries on the support you can provide? That’s compassion. To the other person and yourself. Talk about empath empowerment!
That’s why compassion isn’t weakness. Properly used, compassion is strength.
You can find more blog posts on empowerment over here. And if you’re into spiritual development, you might like these blog posts.
I also create lots of empowering content on Tarot.