Gratitude Blog # 17 (Empathy)

"Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It's the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost. And that someone else's pain is as meaningful as your own. "

Barbara Kingsolver

Protests, and Boycotts, and Indignation, OH MY!

It's been an interesting week on social media to say the least. I've had some enlightening and frank discussions the past several days, on and off social media while trying to be relevant and gentle with my responses. I've grown exhausted of the divisiveness that plagues the online community in these times and I have decided that maybe an olive branch would be more effective than a two by four.

Luckily, the conversations I've experienced have remained somewhat civil, but with little to no concessions. What strikes me most is the Us versus Them mentality, but last I checked, we're sharing the same planet, country, city or town, or community. I'm not claiming innocence or pointing fingers at all, but I do want to see a change in myself and hopefully affect a change in others. It probably seems a bit ideological or naive but a little empathy is what we all could use right now. Instead of barriers, build a bridge of commonalities and break the hold of divisiveness that is being used as a weapon. It's time to challenge yourself to be a voice of reason.

As usual, thanks for reading.

Peace!
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