Empowering people to make strengthening choices
Empathy is awareness of others, what they are feeling or what life may be like for them. I like to think about two dimensions of empathy. One is perspective taking which is your ability to see something from another’s point of view. A second form of empathy is called empathic concern which is to feel […]
There is something powerful about recognizing our common humanity. By this I mean acknowledging that we, as human beings, share similar experiences. We are all imperfect and make mistakes. There is not a person alive who has not experienced suffering, stress, loss and pain. And we hold similar aspirations. We want to be loved, achieve […]
In my last article, I wrote about seeing people deeply. Today I want to explore a related concept, respect and how to create mutual respect. The dictionary defines respect as “to hold in high regard; to feel or show honor or esteem towards something or someone.” Although we think of respect as behaving in a […]
So often we look at people and even interact with them but we don’t really see them. This is something that the columnist David Brooks has talked about lately. He’s been alarmed by the growing isolation and social disconnectedness in our society in recent years. In fact, he’s said, “Many of our society’s great problems […]
I recently learned about a Rabbi by the name of Sharon Brous, a founder of a Jewish Community in Los Angeles. Rabbi Brous recently wrote a book entitled, “The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend our Broken Hearts and the World” in which she writes about a circle of healing and underscores the importance of […]
So much of the quality of your relationships has less to do with other people and more to do with who and how you are in relation to other people. What are the attitudes and perceptions that you come from as you interact with others? In truth, you can do a lot to build healthy […]
I want to suggest that there is power in a soft answer. By soft answer I mean a soft response to some sort of provocation, or at least what feels to you like a provocation. I don’t mean, necessarily, that someone is deliberately inciting or goading you into reacting. Although it may mean that, I’m […]
My mother, who passed away twenty-one years ago, has been on my mind these past several days. She loved this time of year—the decorations, the music, the meals, the shopping, the gift making and giving, the surprises and, perhaps most importantly, being with family at a special, even sacred season. For her, the holidays were […]
