Just imagine that… you’re walking in the park and you see a small dog sitting near the bench. As you approach it, it suddenly jumps at you, teeth bared. You’re frightened and angry. But then you notice that one of its legs is caught in a trap. Your mood shifts…

How comfortable are these for you when meeting with colleagues, friends, family members or strangers?

“Be in his or her skin”

“Sit on the other side of the table”

“Walk in his or her shoes”

“Get into his or her head”

“Enter his or her feeling space”…

It takes emotional intelligence. Expressing empathy, it’s a continuous work in progress. I’m on that journey too. It’s seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another.

Of EVERYTHING: the great, the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s about being truly present with another person without judging, sympathising or moralising.

It’s also about receiving other people’s behaviours, comments or feedback with empathy, without getting into defending or withdrawing ourselves or criticizing, blaming or diagnosing them.

Empathy may seem as one of the most difficult yet most valuable skills to learn in life. It takes to connect within ourselves first to that feeling, perspective, or experience to then be able to truly connect and understand another human being.

Let’s stop waiting for a better world, let’s start making it better, together! By promoting empathic work environments, empathic relationships, and empathic families. Collectively, we can do it!

It’s all about practicing, actively listening and observing the others… AND ourselves.

With so much love,

Lena

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