410: What True Compassion Is and How to Employ It By Default, part Cinq/Five of "What Lies at the Heart of Living Simply Luxuriously"
The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style
Shannon Ables
4.7 • 944 Ratings
🗓️ 17 September 2025
⏱️ 53 minutes
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Summary
"Just as we are wired to be in connection with each other, we are wired with an impulse to help, with an instinct for compassion." —Deb Dana, author of Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory
Empathy in action.
While to empathize with another is a good step, a step that acknowledges our shared humanity, it is when we are motivated to act to alleviate the suffering that it becomes compassion. This compassion we are going to talk about today is a gift we give others as much as we need to give it to ourselves.
Compassion is a choice, but it is a natural choice to choose and each time we do, along with being curious and honoring our true self, "daily living takes on a sense of expansion and possibility."
When we began this 7-part series at the first of the month, I shared with you the guiding axiom that defines who TSLL is written for: "The thinking and compassionate person's blog with everyday 'sides' of living well to savor." In Part One we talked about what being a 'thinking person' meant in the context of living simply luxuriously, and it was shared that 'thinking' goes hand-in-hand with being 'compassionate'. They are equally important.
Without compassion, we can learn all the skills and gain all the knowledge that would be helpful, but if we are only thinking, we become a robot, unfeeling, and unable to see the humanity, the sentient souls (any creature capable of feelings, sensations, and consciousness), that surround us, and are part of our world. We are also unable to honor our true self and reach our full potential.
When we pair being a thinking person with being compassionate, we are on the path to building a life of true contentment. Of grounding ourselves each day in an enduring peace that no matter what is swirling around outside of us, we can hold ourselves in this calm and choose a loving, constructive path forward. We then arrive on the other side of the unwanted moments with a conscience that is at peace.
Listen to the episode to explore further . . .
Find the Show Notes here - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/podcast410
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the simple sophisticate, where in 2014, this podcast premiered, and now in its 12th season, |
| 0:10.0 | the show continues to focus on the same principles it was founded upon, the art of living a life of quality over quantity. |
| 0:18.0 | Topics range from creating an everyday life you love living, strengthening mindfulness |
| 0:22.9 | practices, building a capsule wardrobe, preparing seasonally delicious meals, traveling and exploring |
| 0:29.2 | France and Britain, and living life to the fullest as you courageously honor your true self, |
| 0:34.8 | because living well really is quite simple once we know the skills of |
| 0:39.3 | cultivating contentment. I'm your host, Shannon Ables, and whether you're listening while |
| 0:44.7 | you're on your commute, exercising, working in the garden or art studio, in route or returning from |
| 0:50.4 | that dream destination, or sitting down and savoring a hot cuppa or a cafe au lae. Thank you for |
| 0:57.1 | tuning in. Let's get started. Welcome to the 410th episode of the Simple Sophisticate. And today's |
| 1:06.2 | episode, as I mentioned in last episode 409, is a continuation of a seven-part series. |
| 1:13.9 | This episode being part five, because we are incorporating posts and episodes into it throughout |
| 1:20.4 | September, is part five in the series of what lies at the heart of living a simply |
| 1:25.9 | luxurious life. And today, we're focusing on what true |
| 1:31.0 | compassion is and how to employ it by default. And there's some really good news throughout |
| 1:37.8 | here. As you'll find that it's just kind of like a zipper, everything that starts coming together |
| 1:42.1 | as we start building this, this life of true |
| 1:45.6 | contentment, which is what living simply luxuriously is. And as we talked about last week in |
| 1:52.0 | part three, it's the savoring of the everyday sides that when we hold them in their place, |
| 1:58.0 | when we don't put them at the center of our focus, of our means to reach |
| 2:05.0 | happiness or more happiness, if instead we are aware that no, no, no, no, those are to be safer, |
| 2:11.7 | but on the side, they are not going to bring me contentment and happiness. But when I am content, |
... |
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