Thanks for this post, Scott. Instead of shame on social media, I see people vying for attention, using negative posts and controversy to get people engaged. It has a snowball effect.
There are 3 types of empathy - cognitive (where you can understand other people's problems on a mental level), emotional (where you can put yourself in their position and feel for them), and compassionate (where you have emotional empathy and you also show compassion and help the person feel they aren't alone). Sadly, a lot of chatter on social media skips empathy entirely, at any level.
Empathy can be learned. It's a matter of choice. But you have to want it in order to make it happen. We, as individuals, can help by demonstrating empathy in our daily lives, even in small ways - a smile, asking somehow how they are doing, telling someone we appreciate them. It may seem insignificant, but every small act of kindness we do has a ripple effect.
I am of the view that people are employing, and I mean this in the technical sense, bullshit.. to estrange them selves from that which would necessitate a sense of shame.
It is a kind of devolution of the modern soul.. and by this devolution, lower things have the faits come to have in store.
The only solution, as near as I can tell, is serious inner work.. and that I take you as pointing to this.. well I applaud you sir.
Excellent and timely post, Scott. I thank you for being a catalyst for this important discussion. I offer John Lewis' quote, too, which struck me deeply when I first heard him say it. I strive to measure up to it every day (and sometimes fail, I admit). "You respect the dignity and worth of every human being." So much else falls into place if you try that, I have found.
Wow, Scott. I ALWAYS love your posts, but this one is truly spectacular. It’s the single best discussion of this issue I’ve ever read. And there could be no more timely (and timeless!) moment in which to say what you have so gracefully expressed here. I will share it widely and recommend, as I often do, that people subscribe to your work here. Thanks for this. It’s a true guiding light in what often seems a dark time to many of us.—Steve
Have You No Shame?
Thanks for this post, Scott. Instead of shame on social media, I see people vying for attention, using negative posts and controversy to get people engaged. It has a snowball effect.
There are 3 types of empathy - cognitive (where you can understand other people's problems on a mental level), emotional (where you can put yourself in their position and feel for them), and compassionate (where you have emotional empathy and you also show compassion and help the person feel they aren't alone). Sadly, a lot of chatter on social media skips empathy entirely, at any level.
Empathy can be learned. It's a matter of choice. But you have to want it in order to make it happen. We, as individuals, can help by demonstrating empathy in our daily lives, even in small ways - a smile, asking somehow how they are doing, telling someone we appreciate them. It may seem insignificant, but every small act of kindness we do has a ripple effect.
I am of the view that people are employing, and I mean this in the technical sense, bullshit.. to estrange them selves from that which would necessitate a sense of shame.
It is a kind of devolution of the modern soul.. and by this devolution, lower things have the faits come to have in store.
The only solution, as near as I can tell, is serious inner work.. and that I take you as pointing to this.. well I applaud you sir.
Excellent and timely post, Scott. I thank you for being a catalyst for this important discussion. I offer John Lewis' quote, too, which struck me deeply when I first heard him say it. I strive to measure up to it every day (and sometimes fail, I admit). "You respect the dignity and worth of every human being." So much else falls into place if you try that, I have found.
Wow, Scott. I ALWAYS love your posts, but this one is truly spectacular. It’s the single best discussion of this issue I’ve ever read. And there could be no more timely (and timeless!) moment in which to say what you have so gracefully expressed here. I will share it widely and recommend, as I often do, that people subscribe to your work here. Thanks for this. It’s a true guiding light in what often seems a dark time to many of us.—Steve