Empathy is the practice of suffering and the capacity to have learned enough of God and ourselves to be awake to others pain. Empathy involves telling our stories of pain, suffering and it opens up spaces of undefendedness. We love because we’ve first been loved. Oh, and by the way, there is no program for this.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:
- What gifts have you experienced being “birthed out of the suffering” in your life?
- How have you seen suffering lead to greater capacity for empathy?
- Think of a story of empathy that you have witnessed or been a part of. What happened? How does this story speak to your life?
- Think of a time, even if it is a moment, when you knew yourself loved. How did this knowing change you?
