This resonates, and I think about it all of the time!: "I haven’t cultivated a practice yet that allows me to be kind to everyone at the same time while still maintaining a sense of right or wrong. Instead, I’m cultivating a sense of over-empathy that’s making it difficult to agree or disagree, or sometimes even participate in dialogue or make decisions."
I have these aphorisms I'm always trying to hold onto: "everyone's always trying their best," and "everyone is doing what makes perfect sense to them," etc., but it's hard to hold onto that AND watch a video of someone putting gasoline into a plastic bag.
Where I'm at with it today is reflecting on just how much of a role fear/survival plays in our lives. Like...I don't have to agree with the person putting gasoline in the bag, or not getting a vaccine, but if I can pause for a minute, I can have empathy for them, realize that for them it might be a fear-based reaction, and meet them there. I don't agree with it, but I can still love them.
This resonates, and I think about it all of the time!: "I haven’t cultivated a practice yet that allows me to be kind to everyone at the same time while still maintaining a sense of right or wrong. Instead, I’m cultivating a sense of over-empathy that’s making it difficult to agree or disagree, or sometimes even participate in dialogue or make decisions."
I have these aphorisms I'm always trying to hold onto: "everyone's always trying their best," and "everyone is doing what makes perfect sense to them," etc., but it's hard to hold onto that AND watch a video of someone putting gasoline into a plastic bag.
Where I'm at with it today is reflecting on just how much of a role fear/survival plays in our lives. Like...I don't have to agree with the person putting gasoline in the bag, or not getting a vaccine, but if I can pause for a minute, I can have empathy for them, realize that for them it might be a fear-based reaction, and meet them there. I don't agree with it, but I can still love them.