Irony is when we judge others as lacking empathy

Tension
beyond a certain threshold
will cause damage,
small or big.

Damage
will cause pain,
little or much.

Pain
will yield behaviors
intended to soothe
or prevent further pain.

Some of these behaviors
can damage our relationship to others,
unintentionally.

And yet,
if we
and our relationships
can recover from the damage,
both can develop,
as our muscles do
when they incur damages
from the significant tension they experience
from exercise.

Bad things
are not always done
by bad people.

Bad things
are often done by people
who felt
like they had no other choice.

Choice
of either impression
or expression.

Not options,
but choice.

Good things
are not always done
by good people,
either.

Good things
are often done by people
who felt
like they have no other choice.

Choice
of either impression
or expression.

Not options,
but choice.

“I regret
not having hugged you last night.”
she said.

“Regret
is too strong an emotion.
I don’t want you
to feel it.”
responded her mother.

“But it’s what I feel,
why can’t you accept it?”
she asked
mildly protesting.

“I just don’t want you to feel that.”
responded her mother.

“But I feel it.
I feel it.
I feel regret.
It’s what I feel.”
she responded.

“I just want what’s best for you.
I want you to feel better.”
responded her mother.

“I just want you
to accept me.”
she responded.

There is a “self” we think
we should be.

There is a “self” others say
we should be.

There is a a “self” we think
we are.

There is a “self” others think
we are.

All of them blinds us
to the “self”
we actually are
or the “self”
we can be.

Rehearsals
may seem a mere means
to memorize the lines
and behaviors
so as to re-enact them
during performance.

And yet,
the power of rehearsals
can be unleashed
when it prepares us
to improvise
during performance.

When it rains,
you can passively get wet
or actively feel
each
and every rain drop
fall
on every corner
of your body.

Same rain.

Different intention.

Different feeling.

Different meaning.

Let us reflect
on what gives rise
to the differences.

One
of the most powerful motivators
can be our need
to prove we are right.

One
of the most power transformations
can start
when we are proven wrong.

Sometimes
that which prevents us
from realizing empathy
is our desire
to change the world
for the better.

One
of the easiest things
to confuse
are
strength
vs
numbness.

A vision
is supposed to be
unclear.

Gaze upon a mountain
far ahead
in the distance.

How much detail
do you see?

How much difference
will be there
between our vision of the mountain
and the mountain
when we arrive
at the top?

Our vision
becomes clearer
as we get closer.