One of the most important visibility practices I engage in is observing my inner responses to the news of the world.

I might read a piece of news or someone might mention something to me, and the first thing I try to do is to be still and notice my own emotional response. I reflect on how the news is landing in my body. What it’s bringing up for me. What it’s revealing to me about my own fears and wounding.

Then, I meet my reaction with love. I create a compassionate space within me for my own thoughts and emotions.

By doing this, I build my capacity to engage with the world in a healthy way. Which means I can show up – be visible – in a more productive way than I might otherwise have been capable of.

Taking the time to see your inner world and resourcing yourself with compassion, creates a level of inner resilience which supports you to choose your response to any potentially distressing or traumatic news.

Giving ourselves time to meet first with ourselves is not just an act of self care, it’s a way of caring for the world.

Because if we can’t hold space for our own emotional responses, and we won’t allow our inner voices to be seen and heard, we simply won’t have the capacity to do that for others.

And that leaves us in a world filled with people who feel isolated, alone, unheard, and unappreciated. Which is precisely the thing that causes so much of the terrible news we hear in the first place.