Weekly Needs Study: An Ongoing enCOMPASSion Project
enCOMPASSion's Weekly Needs Study is a study of Universal Human Needs, as Compassionate, or Nonviolent Communication (NVC), sees them. This is an ongoing blog project where I study one need, at a time, every week, in a personal, investigative (rather than informative), and open sort of way. The intention is to create a space for learning, reflection and conversation.
Week One: Mourning
When I do not mourn my unmet needs and take responsibility for meeting them - by actively staying with my mourning and feeling all my sad and angry feelings, thinking all those scary thoughts, and really connecting with myself over what I want – then I am more likely to be violent in my words, thoughts, actions and behaviour, with myself as well as with others.
When I do not mourn my unmet needs and take responsibility for meeting them - by actively staying with my mourning and feeling all my sad and angry feelings, thinking all those scary thoughts, and really connecting with myself over what I want – then I am more likely to be violent in my words, thoughts, actions and behaviour, with myself as well as with others.
Week Two: Support
Support feels like the qualitative opposite of isolation, which is bringing me to the idea it is about inter-connection and inter-dependence, and in a very real sense, about being loved and cared for by people, situations, and things - or the universe. For me, the longing for Support felt very guttural, almost recalling childish longings for my parents, though not always as intense.
Support feels like the qualitative opposite of isolation, which is bringing me to the idea it is about inter-connection and inter-dependence, and in a very real sense, about being loved and cared for by people, situations, and things - or the universe. For me, the longing for Support felt very guttural, almost recalling childish longings for my parents, though not always as intense.
Week Three: Self-care
Caring for myself does actually serve life. Doing what I love, what my instincts call for, supports life to come into its fullness - as I am fulfilling what is natural to me. In that sense it is not "selfish", so much as "self-full" - filled and nourished to my warmest capacity, and therefore able and willing to give from my own heart.
Caring for myself does actually serve life. Doing what I love, what my instincts call for, supports life to come into its fullness - as I am fulfilling what is natural to me. In that sense it is not "selfish", so much as "self-full" - filled and nourished to my warmest capacity, and therefore able and willing to give from my own heart.
Please note that this study is based on my own personal understanding of NVC or Compassionate Communication, and there are probably a gazillion other ways to understand Needs, and indeed, NVC itself. Please feel free to check out CNVC for more information. This study is also not endorsed or affiliated by CNVC.