{"id":1471,"date":"2021-05-05T16:47:51","date_gmt":"2021-05-05T20:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redchairblogs.wpengine.com\/holymoly\/?p=1471"},"modified":"2021-05-05T16:47:51","modified_gmt":"2021-05-05T20:47:51","slug":"in-the-end-empathy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/2021\/05\/05\/in-the-end-empathy\/","title":{"rendered":"In the End, Empathy"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are moving into the hectic season of the academic year. Many are studying for exams, writing papers, and putting finishing touches on portfolios or presentations. Some members of our community are excitedly awaiting graduation and the chapter that begins as soon as degree touches hand. Deadlines become urgent. Planners, both paper and electronic, grow fat with reminders and meetings. In all of this exigency, it becomes easy to lack compassion for ourselves and for others. Let us not forget to treat both ourselves and other beings with kindness and respect.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the Ten Commitments for Humanists is <\/span>empathy<\/span><\/i>, the outstanding ability not only to <\/span>understand <\/span><\/i>but also to <\/span>share <\/span><\/i>other people\u2019s feelings. What does this mean? I often think of empathy as requiring both the willingness to listen without judgment and the ability to be present for a person experiencing difficult times. This may be as simple as listening on the phone to a loved one stressing about unforgiving deadlines and saying, <\/span>I hear you<\/span><\/i>. Empathy, to me, isn\u2019t just about crying when someone we love cries. Rather, it\u2019s about compassionately lending an ear, a hand, or a kind word while understanding another\u2019s pain. It\u2019s sitting with them, being present.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We should not forget that as we find ourselves in this busy time, we are also living lives that are full of both stressors and blessings. While the stress may cause us to be cranky, even disobliging, I urge us to remember our common humanity. I urge us to remember that each person is doing all they can to thrive. And I, dear reader, am abundantly proud of you for showing up each and every day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the last year and a half, my faith in humanity has immeasurably grown. Our gift of <\/span>understanding <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>sharing <\/span><\/i>the journey of being human is almost incomprehensible. I am reminded of Zen Master and Buddhist leader, Thich Naht Hahn\u2019s quote, \u201cPeople usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth\u2026.\u201d I would humbly add, <\/span>to walk together on earth.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

While we are taking exams or marking them, let us remember the blessing of those who walk with us, those who listen. Let us be present for those who are struggling during this busy time. Let us take a deep breath, give ourselves permission to rest. Let us remember to text the friend in need, or to put food in the food pantry, or to say thank you to the supervisor, coworker, or professor who has been compassionate. In the end, dear ones, both understanding and sharing in the journey of being human is such a treasure. Let us finish this academic year strong, and let us do so together with hearts operating with empathy.\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are moving into the hectic season of the academic year. Many are studying for exams, writing papers, and putting finishing touches on portfolios or presentations. Some members of our community are excitedly awaiting graduation and the chapter that begins …<\/p>\n

In the End, Empathy<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jeremy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1QIf6-nJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lynchburg.edu\/holymoly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}