This little video narrated by Brene Brown provides a very easy distinction between empathy and sympathy. Story telling is a valuable learning tool, and I think the one in this video drives home the points the narration is making.
Think about this video the next time you are faced with a similar situation and perhaps you will make a conscious decision to shift to empathy over sympathy. It isn’t easy, but the more you do it the more natural it will become. Then maybe we call experience the connection that occurs at the end of the video.
I am perpetually curious and intend to share what I learn to encourage us all to be connected--with each other, to nature and to the planet. I am guided by the values of empathy and gratitude, and believe they gather us together in community. When we are thriving in community, we have the ability to be agents of change for our friends, family, our neighborhood and the world.
Nature has an unbelievable power to heal--through the plants she displays or spending time in her presence. I am currently enrolled at Cincinnati State Technical College pursuing certification in Landscape Design to bring the benefits of plants to my community.
As a student of Shamanism I believe the human and non-human inhabitants of our world are interconnected, and advocate a return to the indigenous view of revering all, only taking what is needed, and giving back to the Earth.
I have been happily married for 16 years to a man that is also a nature lover and supports me unconditionally in my spiritual journey.
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Julie Seifert 