For some reason I’ve been having a lot of conversations about empathy recently. Empathy has been defined in the scientific journals as ‘I feel withyou‘, as distinct from compassion, which has been defined as ‘I feel for you’. With empathy, we share another’s pain and we are very aware of the effects of our actions on them. With compassion, our focus moves a little in the direction of wishing them freedom from their pain.
We wish to discuss something Brenda heard earlier this week, “creativity requires courage.” So it does, just as is true for creation. Both force you to move outside your comfort zone, to be different – even laughed at. Indeed, creativity and creation require that you think differently than others. To create is to produce something that is new to you or others.
This week may be uncomfortable for many of you. You may feel as if you are at the starting gate and the gun has sounded; but you are only able to move through the gate with a great deal of effort. Winning the race is no longer your objective, just remaining awake and alert is. We smile at your concerns.
