What if Irony is Judging Others for Lacking Empathy?
Imagine
a tight rope
walker.
Without
a net on the ground
for the future,
it can be difficult for her
to feel
safe.
Without
a supportive rope
in the present,
it can be difficult for her
to feel
stable.
Without
sufficient preparation
prior,
it can be difficult for her
to feel
secure.
When we feel
hesitant
or vulnerable,
it may be useful
to ask ourselves
which of the 3
is missing,
Having enough
does not mean
having
abundance.
Having enough
means
having space
without the desire
to fill it.
Having abundance
does not mean
having enough,
either.
In fact,
abundance
can fuel
greed.
Having enough
requires an appreciation
of space.
A to-do list,
can misguide us
to focus on getting things
done.
May we remind ourselves
that it is a to-do list,
not a to-done list.
The list may say
spend 1-hour writing,
as opposed to saying
write 1 page.
Some things
don’t get done
by forcing it.
They get done
as a byproduct
of diligence
and persistence.
Thank you.
Please.
I’m sorry.
Three
magic words.
…
If I may add
one more,
it would be…
“If something goes wrong,
I’ll take responsibility for it.”
When something
or someone
with which we hyper-empathize
is threatened,
we can obsess over rescuing
or protecting
that something
or someone
with which
we hyper-empathize.
This can drive us
to lose sight
of everything around us
and focus solely
on the survival
of only those
with which we hyper-empathize,
even if
it is at the expense of others
with whom
we do not
hyper-empathize,
even if the other
is our so-called
“self.”
When we acquire
power,
the kind that allows us
to feel
as if we never have to expose
our vulnerabilities,
or the kind that allows us
to punish
anyone who dare come near
our vulnerabilities,
may we be careful
with that power,
because it can easily take over
our mind.
If fear accompanies
the prediction
of a negative future event,
we fear
in so far as we believe
we’ll live past
the negative future
event.
Once we realize
that we may die
prior
to the negative future event
much can change.
“The weight
of responsibility
is so heavy.”
remarked the Founder.
“No.”
I responded.
“The weight
of unshared responsibility
is heavy.”
I continued.
“The weight
will be the same
no matter what.
The choice you have
is with whom
you’ll share it
and how.
The choice is yours
and yours
only.”
I remarked.
When someone does something
we dislike
we tend to become
self-absorbed.
They hurt
“me.”
They disrespected
“me.”
They don’t appreciate
“me.”
Me.
Me.
Me.
When we realize empathy,
we often see
that the behavior we considered
to be about
“me”
had less to do with
“me”
and more to do with
them
feeling unsupported.
When we work hard
we sometimes
lose
our way.
It’s nobody’s
fault.
When we work hard,
we tend to
focus.
When we focus,
we can
obsess.
When we obsess,
we can get
impatient.
When we get impatient,
we can become
myopic.
When we become myopic,
our priorities
can be decided for us
by our myopia,
instead
of our holistic
vision.
When our decisions
are made for us
by our myopia
instead
of our holistic
vision,
we can feel
lost.
It can be exceptionally hard
to be still
when this happens.
Especially so,
when we feel pressured
by external forces
and the fear of failure
looms large.
So we keep going
despite feeling
lost.
