What if Irony is Judging Others for Lacking Empathy?
The root
of “wisdom”
is “weid-,”
“to see.”
When we realize empathy,
we connect
our experience
with that
of another.
Experiences
we did not know
to connect.
And it is in that instant,
we come to see
something
we previously
did not.
If Steve is right
that creativity
is coming to see something
others
could not
by connecting
experiences,
then perhaps realizing empathy
is creativity
imbued with the wisdom
of love.
May we ask ourselves
where
our responsibility
ends.
Where
the limits
of our ability to respond
lies.
Because our responsibility ends,
where our ability ends.
To assume otherwise,
can be an easy way
to set us up
for frustration
and resentment.
The temptation
is to use empathy
as a means
to persuade.
To be right.
To win.
Far more difficult
is to realize empathy
as a means
to create.
To learn something
new.
To win
together.
Doing our best
does not guarantee
an ideal outcome.
In fact,
what doing our best can do
that doing less cannot
is expose to us
our limitations.
In such a way
that we become motivated
to either
accept our limitations
with our whole heart
or
embark on a journey of development
to extend the boundary
of our limitations.
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.
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.
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.