What if Irony is Judging Others for Lacking Empathy?
When using
a table saw,
there is the danger
of severing
our fingers.
What’s remarkable
is that so long as we have
a clear understanding of the danger
in using the table saw
many of us find it sufficient
to work up the courage
to engage with it
despite the danger,
instead of staying stuck
in the thought
of severing our fingers
which merely gives rise
to fear.
There are times
when we cannot reconcile
the conflict between
what is right
for us
and what is right
for them.
A paradox.
This is a place,
where we may recognize
what is right for others,
but feel stuck
because what is right for us
seems negated
by their’s.
Let us learn the choice
to give and receive support
in this place.
A place
of struggle.
Support
that can help us all realize empathy
so we can finally see
where it is
we previously did not look
and respect it
so as to let
the paradox dissolve
and give rise
to a new way
of being
together.
One of the most profound things
I learned in art school,
is that we can learn
to physically see the world
differently.
To draw from observation,
I had to look at objects
and learn to see light
instead of objects.
To make a poster,
I had to look at a piece of paper
and learn to see a deeply 3-dimensional space
through the surface of the paper.
To sculpt figures,
I had to look at a naked person
and learn to see their muscles & skeletons
hidden underneath their skin.
To learn to act,
I had to learn to see myself in the character
in between the words written in the script.
In each of these cases,
I’d say “Oh, I see…,”
and that change of sight
would profoundly shift my mind,
which then naturally shifted my behavior.
It is no coincidence,
that the professors I admired in school
never bothered to change my behavior.
They merely helped me see differently,
after which a change in behavior
was inevitable.