Five finds of the fortnight: Edition 15

How can we respond to the suffering in the world?

August 27, 2021

Dear reader,There’s a lot happening in the world. How are you doing?If there’s anything you would like to be heard for during this time, you’re welcome to join us at Project Empathy’s listening circle tonight, 6.30-8.30 PM IST.Project Empathy is coheld by Connext Coaching and enCOMPASSion, and began as a response to the second wave in India. We continue to hold circles every week, and the circles are offered free of cost. Everyone is welcome to join us.If you’d like to join us, please sign up here.Warm regards,

Ranjitha

1. Quote of the week

“…there are no perfect actions. Whatever any of us does, some needs are met and some are not. There is no final point to arrive at in which we act in perfect harmony with all our needs and those of others. There is only a growing capacity to discern more and more of our own needs, to care about more and more people, and to have the skills to attend to the inevitable fallout of being human in a complex world.”

~ Miki Kashtan

(This is an excerpt from Miki Kashtan’s Making Life Work course.)

2. Image(s) of the week

There’s been a lot of distressing news recently from different parts of the world. This series by Mardou captures so many of my own thoughts and feelings. Don’t forget to read the second part of this series too.

3. Responding to suffering in the world

Jack Kornfield writes: “The Buddhist approach to this collective suffering is to turn toward it. We understand that genuine happiness and meaning will come through tending to suffering. It is here that we learn true compassion, where we can bring our courageous heart in response. We overcome our own despair by helping others to overcome theirs.”

4. On empathy

“Empathy is almost like lending my sense of self with them that helps them reconnect with themselves in a deeper way. And when we reconnect with ourselves, we find that we have a wealth of options.”

Watch this video, in which Dominic Barter speaks about how empathy is different from just listening to another’s pain, but something that clears the blocks to action in a way that’s inclusive (and there’s more in part 2 & 3 of this series!)

5. Upcoming event alert

Starting September 1, I will be offering a 3-session workshop on NVC and relationship for enCOMPASSion’s Living Bridges platform. It will be offered in English with simultaneous translation to Hindi (on a separate audio channel).

In this workshop, we will explore how to live nonviolence in our relationships—through three foundational aspects to interdependent relationships: