“If a man [pretends] to be great, how can he conceal his mediocrity?”–Tao Te Ching A lot of us have a fear of being ordinary. We want to be excellent in everything we do. Often we put so much pressure on ourselves because we believe that we are living below our potential. Sometimes, we can even put a tremendous amount of Read more…
Last week, I switched gears to read about empathy with the eyes of a researcher. Looking at experimental studies in Social Psychology, I read about the ways that empathy fosters understanding, compassion, and the desire to help others. The primary message in these articles focused on the “in-group,” which refers to people with whom you identify. For example, if I Read more…
“Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.”– Pema Chödrön I came across this quote quite a while ago and I recently found it again in Read more…
This past week, I attended a conference in Phoenix that focused on families. While there, I sat in on a discussion that focused on hot topics in the therapy world. Eventually, the conversation centered around the role of the therapist’s attitudes and beliefs in the therapy room. Should therapists be upfront to clients about their beliefs? Should therapists be allowed Read more…
“If honorable actions are the cobblestones, mistakes are the mortar.” We judge others way too much. All too often this judgment is based on someone’s behavior. I think this is because someone’s behavior is the most observable characteristic. Batman once said, “It’s not who you are underneath, it’s what you do that defines you.” The problem with this is, how many Read more…
