Purposeful Empathy by Anita Nowak

Author:Anita Nowak [Anita Nowak]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Broadleaf Books
Published: 2022-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

THE POWER OF EMPATHY

Each of these examples has a different theory of change, but all three put purposeful empathy into practice. As we know from many inspiring examples throughout history, when the spiritual and political dimensions of empathy are coactivated at scale, social progress is inevitable.

In a conversation with Tibetan Buddhist scholar Jinpa Thupten, who served as a translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, he told me, “At a fundamental level, we are absolutely the same. And that sameness is rooted in a basic disposition of wanting freedom from suffering and the pursuit of happiness”—for ourselves and for others.

According to Thich Nhat Hanh, however, one of the fourteen precepts of interbeing is “Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering, including personal contact, visits, images, and sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.” How can we reconcile this tenet with the universal yearning to be free of suffering?

The answer is twofold. We must expand our empathic consciousness to include all sentient beings. And we must take action to address injustice and alleviate suffering wherever it’s expressed or encountered. As Dr. King put it, “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.” That’s why the outer ring of my diagram (on the following page) speaks to the inherently spiritual and political nature of purposeful empathy.

Every day in the news, there are stories of people in pain, making it easy for us to feel overwhelmed and despondent. But with so much at stake, we must find courage to step up. Polish poet Stanislaw Lec once said, “Every snowflake in an avalanche pleads not guilty.” Some take that to mean “I didn’t cause the problem, so it’s not my responsibility to fix.” Others interpret is as “I’m just one person; what can I possibly do to change things?” In juxtaposition, St. Francis of Assisi, a friar who gave up a life of privilege to be of service said, “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” Meaning, we can all make a difference.

Twinkle Rudberg believes her late husband, Dan, had a premonition an hour before he was killed. While getting ready for their anniversary dinner, he peeled open the shower curtain and asked, “Honey, what would you do without me?” Then, uncharacteristically, he begged her to take off the black dress she was wearing, saying it made her look like a widow.

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