For the last 27 years, DailyGood newsletters have offered a daily email that inspires you to respond to life with creativity and kindness. To join a community of 148,375 subscribers, subscribe here.
Apr 8, 2012
"Everyone adds something to a situation by their actions and words. The very first things said or done, will quickly decide what happens next, positive or negative. Be patient and empathetic, and the direction usually goes positive." --Gary Rudz
Building a 'Muscular Empathy'
"'We judge others by their behavior. We judge ourselves by our intentions.' In attempting to empathize, we're actually missing the point if we are judging at all. Because then we are more concerned with being knowledgeable, being right -- or even being good -- than we are with actually feeling another person's reality. But even moral imagination, operating creatively from a place of first putting myself in another's shoes, while crucial, is only the beginning. To effect a lasting change in perception and understanding, I have to actually experience another's reality as if it were my own. The good news is that scientific research increasingly shows that a part of the brain already does exactly that." An insightful reflection on building a 'muscular empathy.'