7 Day Encouragers Journey, Day #5

Day 5: Ask a question: "How is this hard for you"?  Empathy Ian MacLaren, a noted Scotsman, author of “Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush,” cared deeply about those around him. His oft-quoted words offer wise counsel: “Be kind. Everyone you meet is carrying a heavy burden.” We recently hosted a town hall type meeting at our church.  It was a sunday evening gathering, setting aside time to share and talk about how we are feeling and thinking about all that's going on in the community, the US and the world.  I was a bit anxious about such a meeting, knowing that there would be a wide variance in the opinions and viewpoints represented in the room--but it went quite well.  We were able to hear from many who just needed to process and express their hearts.  Questions, some tears, understandings and some very deep resolutions were made that night-- It was only a first step, but one that I'm glad we took-- we need to do that more often.  One of the profound actionable things that came out of our discussion was to simply ask someone "How is this time hard for you"?  A simply yet profound gesture to open ourselves to listen and empathize with someone else.  Whether it be due to the racial unrest we are faciing, or the continued stress of living with the COVID-19 virus, or hundreds of other possible stressors that we all are facing-- what a wonderful step to engage someone, and invite them to share what is inside. "Learning to stand in somebody else's shoes, to see through their eyes, that's how peace begins. And it's up to you to make that happen. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world." Barack Obama 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV) So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Encouragement Positive mental attitude Enthusiasm, Dreamer, Coach, Mentor, Friend [email protected] charlesrgrimes.com Twitter: @charlesrgrimes https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-grimes-2b78444b/ https://www.instagram.com/encouragers_united/ https://www.facebook.com/EncouragersUnited/?modal=admin_todo_tour https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS-40nUSl9SCekbbhk3FzYw?view_as=subscriber