The spiders are back. As it turns cooler outside, spiders seek a warm refuge such as my house. My regular practice has been to smash and swipe – exerting my superiority over the adventurous arachnid. This season, I’m trying something new: catch and release.
I’m not advocating for spider rights, I haven’t cancelled my exterminator contract, and I don’t wish to crawl into bed with any eight-legged creature. Rather, I’m engaging an empathetic practice. Spiders are just being spiders. I value their existence and will not kill them because they scare me or inconvenience me. The idea is this:
What we practice in small, everyday situations, we also carry to larger, more complex situations.
The folks at the Empathy Museum in London tell us “our empathic capacities are rapidly being eroded. Our failure to appreciate other people’s viewpoints, experiences, and feeling is at the root of prejudice, conflict and inequality.”
They’ve opened a new exhibit, A Mile in My Shoes, which invites patrons to wear and walk a mile in the shoes of a local worker while listening to a narrative of that person’s life. When we know another’s story, we connect with their humanity, begin to understand them, and cannot discard them.
Forgiveness begins with empathy, understanding and compassion. To even vicariously walk a mile in another’s shoes – be it for one leg, two legs, or even eight legs – opens us to new perspectives and appreciation, even care.
Quote
Authentic love is of one piece. How you love anything is how you love everything. Richard Rohr
Web
Find our more about the Empathy Museum (visit now)
What we practice in small, everyday situations, we also carry to larger, more complex situations.
The folks at the Empathy Museum in London tell us “our empathic capacities are rapidly being eroded. Our failure to appreciate other people’s viewpoints, experiences, and feeling is at the root of prejudice, conflict and inequality.”
They’ve opened a new exhibit, A Mile in My Shoes, which invites patrons to wear and walk a mile in the shoes of a local worker while listening to a narrative of that person’s life. When we know another’s story, we connect with their humanity, begin to understand them, and cannot discard them.
Forgiveness begins with empathy, understanding and compassion. To even vicariously walk a mile in another’s shoes – be it for one leg, two legs, or even eight legs – opens us to new perspectives and appreciation, even care.
Quote
Authentic love is of one piece. How you love anything is how you love everything. Richard Rohr
Web
Find our more about the Empathy Museum (visit now)
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