realizing empathy

When I saw this tweet this morning, I clicked on the link not knowing what to expect.

All I can say is I'm a better person for having watched it. Like courage, empathy is a choice and a practice. I'm so grateful you shared these ideas with us! 

Here's the link to the Realizing Empathy website. Here's the Facebook page. And Twitter.

Powerful! Thank you, Seung Chan Lim!

Comments

[Teresa Barrett]

Thank you for posting this video link. It is truly beautiful. I am training as a Transpersonal Art Therapist and this video goes to the heart of what our work is about.

[Marjorie Deakins]

My response to this video is visceral. I can't even find words beyond "Wow! Thank you!" So I will leave it at that. Wow! Thank you, Brene, for sharing this amazing video!

[sandie]

Brene, Thank you so much for sharing this video. It is very powerful and inspiring. A lovely way to end my day. x

[Christine]

This is awesome come alive. This is what we are. We just need to find our way back. I feel so very inspired. Thank you for sharing here!

[Diane]

Brene....this I will watch again, but before I do I want you to know that many things you have shared have brought me around to a more awake and alive me. These gift are truly perfect.

[Jeanette]

Beautiful!

[yinuo]

Thank you for your comment about my articles, much appreciated! You can also look at my blog -- there is much more there. :)
http://www.ebuysilver.com
And, sure, if you ever need coaching -- I am here. Good luck!

[Susanne Leckne]

Thank you Brené for touching hearts, creating what you create and for sharing this!

Watching the video gave me the sparkle of inspiration for new angles and ideas which I for some time have been longing for.

It reminded me that Life is Art and Art is Life. And although in life so easy to forget, the two of them belong together. From my own personal experience and as a Psychosynthesis/Expressive Arts therapist in Sweden, I get to witness the magic that comes out of allowing ourselves to be h u m a n and with open hearts and minds, step into our own unique well of creativity and wisdom.

When nurtured, these qualities change us profoundly and I am convinced that they would also make the entire world a more human and sustainable place for all of us. Thank you for reminding me of my "WHY"!

[Fern]

thank you.

[Peggy K]

Thanks for posting this!! Whether it was the music or the message or both, I cried and cried. This is so beautiful!!!

[Kyleigh W]

This is amazing and beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

[Lauri Lumby]

Amen! This is certainly the work that we are all involved in as healers, counselors and teachers. I am ever humbled and grateful to be able to be witness and vessel to this work of helping people Remember the Love that they Are....and live that out in the world through compassion, empathy, mercy and love.

[Liv Lane]

Oh, thank you for this, Brene! I know for certain this can change the way we work, but I am also reminded of the way empathy reunited a dear friend and I after a decade of silence between us. We met in the middle, we saw each other's perspective, we cried in a restaurant...sharing sweet potato fries. And I can call her my friend again because I put down my arms and recognized my part in our friendship's demise all those years ago.

P.S. I've urged all my blogging ecourse students to watch your vulnerability TED Talk - it's a game changer for so many. Thank you.

[sizzle]

Amazing. I really enjoyed this and got a lot out of it. Thanks for sharing!

[Sarah Hoenicke]

Thanks for sharing this. Very inspiring.

[Ranee]

Thank you for seeking and sharing! Your posts are a primary source for my blog! My focus is conscious consumerism and social entrepreneurship including Fair Trade efforts. I'm all about empowerment and empathy rooted in authenticity. Together we can choose resiliency.

http://charmedbychoice.blogspot.com/

[marybeth]

Thank you for forwarding such important work! And for inspiring us, big time!

[Lori Anderson]

Thanks so much for posting this~

[rowie]

thank you, thank you, thank you! i found your blog, Dr. Brene, when my sister-in-law posted your TED talk on facebook last December. I've read ITIWJM and Gifts of Imperfection since then and I've started listening to the ITIWJM read-along and all have been very, very helpful. However, I hit a snag - the podcasts for Chapter 5 and on are not working. Not sure what is wrong. The first three chapters were ok. Please let me know how I can access the remaining podcasts or if it's no longer available. Thanks!

[carrie]

My best friend growing up was diagnosed bipolar right when we turned 19 and I stuck by her for years... tried to help her, listen and be there for her and her parents. It was all-consuming for about a year. After a few suicide attempts and running to her side over and over again, I had to cut all ties with her to save my own sanity. I tried to empathize, I tried to be there for her, but in the end... it was too damaging to do so. I wonder... we are trying to learn how to connect, listen, be patient, forgive etc to be a better person and friend and have better relationships with others and ourselves... but what if the relationship is toxic or codependent? How do we assess it, know when we need to protect ourselves and move on? Should we just put up better boundaries or go no contact? I still feel guilty about abandoning her... but... I don't know... I'll keep searching and praying for answers to things like this, as it comes up a lot throughout my life with other relationships. (But I'm hoping that maybe you'll touch on this someday!) In other words... how do you stay sensitive, vulnerable, strong, fair AND empathetic in a toxic relationship?

[Scott Boyd]

I loved the video on empathy. I also happen to love physics... it is ok to call me strange. But it struck a nerve within me as I listened to his definition of two perspectives collapsing into one. When we get empathy from another person, we also get energy to overcome our situation. This is so similar to when two hydrogen's collapse into one helium and you get energy from that act of fusion. I find the universe full of principles that work like this, same result but completely different system, one a system of physics and particle quantum mechanics and the other a system human behavior.

[fin]

OMG! And I do mean "GOD" This video draws my attention attention to the mystery of God.

In saying this, I wonder what kind of videos, art, poetry, dance, song and so on people would produce using your themes of vulnerability,courage and authenticity. Seung shared "empathy" as his expression. What expression would others use? Wouldn't that be "fun" to see Brene? I would love watching, seeing, hearing this very thing. Just an idea. *wink*

I think I am going to spend a few minutes jotting down my ideas of what I would express and then go and create it. The time has come to "express" these lessons~even if no one else "bares witness" to it. The mystery of God calls forth such an expression.

[Insurance News]

I like your idea fin. And I agree with you. The idea of a larger entity than ourselves is quite fun to explore creatively. Best of luck on your exploration of expressions.

[Rain]

Wonderful video. Thanks for posting it, Brene. It brought to mind advice I was given by a good friend, who also happened to be my boss at the time (best boss I've ever had). When in difficult situations with friends or clients, he advised me: "Seek to understand". I have never forgotten that advice given many years ago, and I return to it constantly. I think it is the same as what is being called "empathy" in this video. It requires courage and vulnerability. Not easy, but so powerful.

[tiny]

thanks brene. this is truly beautiful. i watched it and saw myself, saw my stories, my unwillingsness and i saw solutions and possible change.

[Heidi Behr]

Thanks for sharing and posting such an important video. I'm loving your blog and loved your TED talk on vulnerablity. As a therapist these are ideas and issues I work with a lot- with my clients, with my peer supervision group- and with myself! Human issues. I am breathing in the belief of us all becoming more tuned in with each other- the grand possiblity of it!
Many thanks-
namaste.