monochrome

a new kind of empathy

newkindofempathy

After listening to the TED Talk, “Can a Divided America Heal”, I did a brief exploration of the three basic principles of moral psychology

  1. Generally we influenced by intuition and then use that which “feels right” to justify our moral judgments.
  2. The underlying motivation in moral reasoning and communication is directed more towards manipulation or persuasion than exploration of truth.
  3. Morality is a crucial element of tribalism which is the building block for the development of large, cooperative societies.

A bit of personal reflection opens a window of understanding of how I’m more often than not influence by what feels right and yes, the importance I place in intuition over reasoning.  Often a movement towards “spiritual” reasoning occurs after a period of solitude and contemplation.

There is also an awareness that I do enjoy the rhythmic power of football tribalism while being perplexed by a religious leader’s comment about limiting compassion to one’s own tribe.

Then finally…do I acknowledge the possibility of some hidden agenda to persuade you to join me in what feels right over someone else’s sense of right?  Ugh, I think I’ll close this window for a bit and open one that has us explore a new empathy.

…we have an existential threat on our hands..we need a new kind of empathy…if you want to escape from this [the anger and worry of the last year], read Buddha, read Jesus, read Marcus Aurelius. They have all kinds of great advice for how to drop the fear, reframe things, stop seeing the other people as your enemy. There’s a lot of guidance in ancient wisdom…(Jonathan Haidt)

Ancient wisdom guiding us to “a new kind of empathy.”  I believe that the on-the-ground community response to Harvey is a living example of an ancient empathy that has the potential to heal.

I invite you to listen to the TED talk below in which social psychologists Jonathan Haidt and TED Curator Chris Anderson explore the sharp divisions of today and then discuss how we may be able to move forward.   _()_

Alphabet with a twist: ap

Is the water bottle an apparition?

apparition

The CDC notes that since plain drinking water has zero calories, it helps with managing body weight and, when substituted for sugar drinks, it reduces caloric intake. Water prevents dehydration, a condition that can bring about unclear thinking, mood changes, overheating, constipation, and kidney stones.

So…the appearance of water bottles within daily activities has me wonder if during the years when there were no marketed water bottles were most children impacted by various levels of  dehydration?   Why this question…because as I reflect back to my childhood, I cannot recall drinking water other than an occasional water foundation sip and a summer water hose gulp.

Koolaid, yes.  Water, no.

Image submitted in response to Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge

 

nondiscrimination

“My right hand does a lot of things–it creates calligraphy and writes poems. Nearly all my poems have been written with my right hand because I don’t use a typewriter. There was only one time when I wrote a poem on a typewriter. When inspiration came to me, I did not have a pen at hand so I just put an envelope into the typewriter, and at that time my left hand participated. All the rest of my poems were written with my right hand alone, yet my right hand never says to the left hand, ‘You, you are good for nothing! You don’t do calligraphy, you don’t write poems. I do all the work, you never do anything!’

whitewaterraftingweb

“The body never discriminates in this way. Don’t think that this is because our bodies do not possess any inherent intelligence. While trying to hang a picture on the wall, I held the nail in my left hand and hammered with the right. But instead of hitting the nail I hit a finger on my left hand. That happens from time to time, especially if you are high up on a ladder. Immediately the right hand put down the hammer and reached over to take care of the left hand, very naturally. The feet began to move to look for a bandage. Everything worked together very smoothly. Later the right hand did not say, “Hay left hand, remember how I helped you? Next time I need something you have to come and help me.’ Our innately wise bodies do not act in that way. So the wisdom of nondiscrimination is present in us as a living bodily reality. We have to train our minds to see in this way.

whitewaterraftingbweb

We form one reality. We exist in interbeing with all of life. When we understand this fundamental truth, our acts of giving will be made in the spirit of nondiscrimination. …we can offer a smile or a loving compassionate gaze. We can give the gift of calm, concentrated presence to help someone who is fearful or anxious. We can make an offering of our time and energy and work with the homeless, or with those who are prisoners or who are addicted to different substances, or to work on helping the environment. We have plenty of gifts to offer; we are far wealthier than we may imagine. We can help secure the happiness of many people even if we don’t have a single penny in our pocket.”

~Thich Nhat Hanh, Opening the Heart of the Cosmos

cache la poudre river

If someone asks

where I live,

say:

“The farthest end of

the heavenly river shore.”

~Ryokan (K Tanahashi, Sky Above Great Wind)

paudreriverweb

Cache la Poudre River

The headwaters of the Cache la Poudre River, also known as the Poudre River, are in the Front Range in Larimer County.  The river descends from the northern part of Rocky Mountain National Park through the Poudre Canyon before it meanders across the plains  of northeastern Colorado on it’s journey towards the South Platte River.

The name of the river (French for “Hide the Powder”) is a corruption of the original Cache a la Poudre or “cache of powder”.  It refers to an incident in the 1820s when French trappers, buried part of their gunpowder along the banks of the river during a snowstorm.

cited:  wikipedia