Have Empathy for Money

Corporations, Corrupt Governments, Militaries and Lots of Empathy

As applied to society, , ,

Given all that’s happening in the world (wars, social injustice, brainwashing via mass-media and entertainment) it’s tempting to say we need a revolution. The heritage of this word is a bloody one. It is clear we need change. But let us embrace the concept of evolution.

The very idea of revolution implies a return to a previous state. It is circular and repetitive in nature, just like our violent history. Evolution means breaking this vicious circle. Due to the upcoming technological advances, which will make nuclear weapons look like wet firecrackers, we are forced to evolve rather than revolve. I believe one of the keys of the next evolutionary step (if not the key) is generalized empathy.

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Daryl Davis

Man Who Makes Friends within Ku Klux Klan Is a True Role Model

Inspirational,

By providing an inspiring real life story of how empathy can change the world, this man has become a living embodiment of what society can achieve when it doesn’t fall prey to fear and hate.

When he started making friends among the KKK, Daryl embraced “the enemy” because deep inside he knew that there is no enemy. People make mistakes; they sometimes end up on a path that leads to suffering because they had few alternatives. That doesn’t make them any less human than the ones on the “other side”. But one important fact is that we’re all in the same boat. It’s up to us – to all of us – to grow each other up and to make sure that the boat we’re on becomes a party boat towards a beautiful land, not a dirge heading for the cemetery.

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The Art Of Peace

The “Art of Peace” Trilogy

As applied to society, , ,

Peace is something most people yearn for. Yet sometimes it seems like it’s slipping away rather than becoming wide-spread. There probably is a parallel between a lack of peace in people’s private life and the lack of peace between many countries, societies or cultures.

We live in a day and age when individualism has become a new religion and when the survival instinct hasn’t yet caught up with the comforts of modern life. Science has given us so much that many people have fallen into it, making it the sole focus of their life, often forgetting about other equally important aspects of existence.

Emotion ended up being seen as the behavioral manifestation of a biological machine. Perhaps it is, but this approach lacks imagination; its artistic dimension is missing. As the union between emotion and free will, art is a pillar of life.

Let’s go beyond the simple textbook definition of peace and above the few sentences we could think of in a rush. Peace as a life-permeating and world-changing emotion is something that we need to dig at. It is something that requires introspection, research and application.

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Be and Let Be

Be and Let Be

As applied to individuals, Blog, ,

We’ve accumulated millennia of philosophy and principles, of dogmas and history. We’ve seen science clash with religion and gained an enormous amount of self-reflection through sometimes painful confrontation. We’ve been given commandments, laws, rules, methodologies and all manner of tools for self-improvement. And yet sometimes all is needed for peace is just four words.

After years of philosophizing and ethical debates, the beautiful simplicity of these simple words hit me out of the blue one day. Hundreds of hours spent “debating life” crystalized into what I consider to be an easy to remember (and perhaps harder to follow) principle.

These four simple words represent the very essence of peace. When this tolerant and empathic principle is applied, the result is a reduction in negative feelings and a strong movement towards friendship and understanding. My life became more positive since I started repeating these words in my head before getting upset on somebody, or when I realize I harbor any negative feelings towards somebody.

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Why Boys Need Empathy Education

Boys Need Extra Empathy Lessons

Parenting,

The fact that empathy is a career-enhancing skill should give parents enough reason to instill it in their children. The fact that empathy can also stimulate a social group’s technological progress through increased collaboration and innovation should give governments enough reason to implement it throughout the educational system.

Even though we evolved emotionally quite a bit in the past centuries our society continues to often exhibit a severe lack of empathy, especially when it comes to the male demographic. Perhaps it’s time for governments to realize that empathic men are more useful than those whose emotions were twisted in order to condition them to become obedient soldiers, ready to slaughter each other to fill somebody’s coffers. Perhaps that made sense last century, but we’re past the point where we can survive a third world war, so any investment in that sort of competition is a recipe for social bankruptcy.

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