Every year in November, I dedicate myself to thirty days of gratitude, this year, with a focus on empathy.
My gratitude project has become an anchor and compass in my life. This year, my focus is on the quiet power of empathy: the ability to truly see and understand another person. Empathy turns gratitude outward—it transforms appreciation for what we have into appreciation for who others are. Each day this month, I’ll share a reflection on what empathy looks and feels like in real life, and why it might just be the most profound form of gratitude there is.
Visit this hub to follow along or catch up on past reflections. I’ll be updating it daily with links to my daily reflections on empathy and gratitude.
November 1: My Gratitude Project on the Magic of Empathy
Every year in November I dedicate myself to 30 days of gratitude. This year, I’m grateful for the boundless benefits and joys of empathy. I will be exploring the particular kind of magic that happens when you make someone feel truly seen, heard, and validated as a unique human being in the very particular circumstances they find ourselves in.
Empathy is typically described as putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. But in my experience, it is really much more than that. The power of empathy emerges in the details, the depth of the effort to truly understand, and the ways that you signal to the other person that you really see them. You hear them. You understand they are doing the best given their circumstances, and that probably, given the same situation, you would do the same.
So, empathy begins with the effort to see things from the other person’s perspective. Truly seeing the complexity of their situation and understanding how it would feel to be them takes time and effort. But the rewards are immense, and I think, if you follow along and try empathy, you will be grateful you did.
Ultimately, when you dedicate yourself to a true and full understanding of another person, you move beyond empathy to something more profound. At that point, you can reach the Golden Rule and treat them the way you would want to be treated if you were in their place.
In return, something magical happens for them and for you. This month, I’ll be exploring what it takes to get to that place in daily posts and sharing tips for how to get there. Each post is separate but I’ll link them to this post so you can just come back here anytime if you want to follow along.
By the end of this month, if you come on this empathetic journey with me, I hope you are as grateful as I am for the magic of empathy.
If you’d like to explore the science behind gratitude, visit the Greater Good Science Center’s Gratitude Resources.
