Category: Empathy

I was talking with my daughter recently and she shared with me that she is teaching my granddaughter about setting and respecting physical space limits.  My daughter didn’t use those specific words, but it is essentially what she was referring to.  It reminded me of the importance of setting clear boundaries with others and the important responsibility of keeping and respecting boundaries of others and of ourselves.  It is good to recognize that we all have limitations and recognizing that and putting healthy boundaries up helps us to thrive.

My granddaughter is learning about a physical boundary, but there are other areas we may want to consider when thinking of boundaries.  Areas that I have learned to value and protect with boundaries include financial, time, energy, and emotional boundaries.  These can change as our circumstances change, but it is good to know what boundary I need or want to be in place for the c ...

In recent years, there has been an increase in discussions about empathy. Social topics including cultural divisiveness, racism, lack of inclusivity, problems in personal relationships, have blamed a lack of empathy as the source of the problem. Empathy is important to demonstrate compassion and to feel more connected. Empathy is being able to put yourself in another person’s shoes and enter into their reality, allowing one to understand what another person might be thinking, feeling, or experiencing in the moment. It makes sense folks associate a lack of empathy with political and social issues being present in today’s world.

Although empathy has positive impacts in most social situations, a “more empathy is better” mindset won’t necessarily help solve all the problems or even experience the connection we desire. Have you ever found yourself feeling disconnected, overwhelmed, or lost in a relationship despite utilizing empathy as a method t ...