The Movement towards conscious Empathic action...
I'm not going to be completely coherent here, but I want to put together is my thoughts from Sunday where we heard about the work of Asha, which means Hope in Hindi. The you-tubes that I've watched since and my thoughts about Duke Vaclav Wenceslaus of Bohemia.
OK Let's start with Asha - although it's not first in time, it's the most real world of all the informations that go together.
Asha India: Transforming lives in the slums of Delhi
There is so much I could say that would be repeating what's on the website - so go read that. I'll summarise it for those who don't want to go read (although I hope that you will go read later when you make time for it).
Asha works in ways I haven't seen much in charities - they work at
(1)empowering the slum residents to make changes in their environment for themselves. They work on peacemaking with the corrupt Slum mafia, Slumlords and apathetic government officials - so that they can work together to improve conditions rather than be in conflict.
This is the act of empathetic action towards those in power - not the ones you would expect to need empathy. And yet, if you find the points in common, the humanity of those who are oppressing and re-connect them with it then you have a real chance at improvement without violence.
This part of their work really dove-tails in with the RSA Animate you-tube that I watched today.
This is definitely worth a watch - 10:29, and it coalesced my thoughts that have been going on in my head. It's animated, so that it illustrates what the guy is talking about. And makes so much sense to me. It talks about the movement of the abolition of slavery, as a movement that started within the oppressors, by making the public aware what it feels like to be a slave. As the movement developed it became a political movement and Wilbur Wilberforce and his political party found their way through to eventually getting it abolished. Amazing Grace - the movie The film is worthwhile - there is a lot of empathic relationships here to observe. And also the way that they finally are able to get the bills passed is a wonderfully YES! moment.
Back to Asha -
(2) They work in the health area. They train the people of the slums to recognise and heal themselves, and bring the fight for health by educating the slum dwellers so that they know what to look for, and know what they can do. They've set up health centres with doctors and nurses for the things they can't do themselves. This keeps on with the empowerment - if you send a doctor into the slums, and they treat whatever they find in front of them - they end up treating the same things that a first-aid box, and decent health education could treat for a majority of the time. It's not a useful way to use the doctor - and it's not going to spread health throughout the slums for even those who will never the see the doctor. But train people to treat diarrhoea, provide first aid, teach about nutrition and basic health behaviour - and the lessons and the empowerment encourage people to treat themselves with respect - to look after themselves in a way that they were not aware of, but had the ability to do so and never knew.
Empathy towards ourselves... there is something that we don't think we need. After all, we know how we feel and we respect ourselves enough to treat ourselves well? After all, we look after ourselves to our highest standard of care... don't we?
Here's an anti-smoking ad that illustrates how much that just isn't true. This one is a lot shorter - 1:34 but powerful, very powerful.
Every time we do something that is bad for us, just for the pleasure of it we stop empathising with ourselves. And this makes me go away and think about how I'm showing a lack of empathy for myself - after all do I not want to be the best me I can be? Which is going back to introspection as a result of outrospection - they go hand-in-hand I believe - intelligent and useful action occurs when we think about the problem rather than just jump to doing the first action we can find. But true empathy always ends in action - towards others, towards ourself, towards our environment.
Back to Asha again:
(3) Education - they work with education issues - because if you don't have the options how can you better yourself and the environment around you? One of their projects is to get slum kids through education to university so that they are equipped to do what they can. Not just with the educational obstacles, but with the personal and financial issues as well. This is the one that made me tear up at Church. I understand about not fitting in from my own experience (although I am sure that my experience is pale in comparison to theirs). Having support to fit in at Uni, to be able to experience life at Uni and enjoy the comradeship of others as they learn is something that is hugely important and helps them keep their hunger for learning and making their world a better place.
Dr. Kiran Marten who is the founder of Asha, told us of her dream of giving slum kids the opportunities to go to Uni, and how she thought that it would be not be able to rolled out in her lifetime with all the obstacles that there were. And how this year 700 slum kids went to Uni. SEVEN HUNDRED. She was tearing up, I was tearing up. That's 700 people who have the opportunities, the tenacity and the ability to learn. To stand up against govt obstacles, family obstacles and environment obstacles and make their lives and the lives of their family and neighbours better. Education doesn't change opinions - but it changes opportunities - and with active empathy, the opinions of those around them are changed. Powerful, Empowering action. I'm tearing up again as I think about it.
So we've got the work of people like GetUp!, Avaaz, etc. The movement towards empowering the people on the ground who don't think they have the ability to change the world around them to something that is better. It's a movement of activating people's empathy into action - even if that action is just signing or creating a petition to be given to government figures. They've made enough noise, that they're being seen as a force to be reckoned with. It's been called Slactivism, but I think that's a misnomer. Because what is the alternative? Before these online movements - people saw what was on the media and took it for truth or some version of truth. They had no way of knowing what the media ignored, so the opportunities for empathy were limited to what the media decided was interesting enough to be talked about. What they do is help to wake up the empathy for others in the disenfranchised majority, to give them the opportunity to feel empathy and act on it - rather than to view sensationalised media versions that disempower - because if it's really that bad, what can I one person do to help?
So finally we get to Christmas. And Christmas today in the world for the non-religious, is all about what we can buy for ourselves and our loved ones, to stuff ourselves silly, get presents, sing carols together in large parks (in Australia), and celebrate a guy called Santa who's current incarnation was invented by Coca Cola in the early 20th Century (1900+) - a consumer advertisement of a guy who doesn't exist.
Which leads me to Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia. You know who he is if you've ever heard the Christmas Carol - Good King Wenceslas.
Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia 907 - 935
He was legend had it, a fellow who EVERY night not just the feast of Stephen, went out and delivered alms to the poor, himself - not delegated. He had empathy for the poor, he went out barefoot - he experienced what they had to deal with, and he was generous to them.
Regardless of whether he did this or not, his legend is one that demonstrates empathic action.
The feast of Stephen is actually itself important. Stephen was the guy who was stoned to death for being a Christian and preaching - and chose to forgive the people who were killing him IN THE ACT. Not afterwards - which lets face it - would have been impossible. I'll talk at a later date about what I think forgiveness is, and why it's essential although not necessarily as immediate as Stephen did it. Stephen's words were 'Lord, don't blame them for what they have done' (Contemporary English Version). Acts 7:54 - 8:2. Stephen was showing empathy as well. A different kind of empathy.
Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even;
Brightly shone the moon that night, tho' the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight, gath'ring winter fuel.
"Hither, page, and stand by me, if thou know'st it, telling,
Yonder peasant, who is he? Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence, underneath the mountain;
Right against the forest fence, by Saint Agnes' fountain. "
"Bring me flesh, and bring me wine, bring me pine logs hither:
Thou and I shall see him dine, when we bear them thither. "
Page and monarch, forth they went, forth they went together;
Through the rude wind's wild lament and the bitter weather.
"Sire, the night is darker now, and the wind blows stronger;
Fails my heart, I know not how; I can go no longer. "
"Mark my footsteps, good my page. Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter's rage freeze thy blood less coldly. "
In his master's steps he trod, where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing.
So maybe this Christmas - rather than it being about the presents I'm going to get, and the presents I'm going to give to my family and friends - this year I'm going to see what I can do about giving to those in need. To empathise with the both the people who clearly need my empathy - the poor, the sick, the orphan and the widow - and those that I forget - myself and the oppressors.
If I truly believe that all people are deserving of respect, regardless of their race, colour, creed, religion, sexual identity, or deeds - then that means they deserve empathy.
As a Christian, the second part of the Great Commandment - Love my neighbour as myself - means I can't get out of doing any of this. I MUST learn to love my neighbour AND myself.
I'll talk/think about love later.
Do I think that Empathy, Forgiveness, Love is the solely owned by Christians? Not at all. All humans have a capacity for empathy and a drive to exercise that empathy if given opportunity, encouragement and empowerment. Our similarities outweigh our differences.
Please feel free to comment, and even to disagree. Me showing empathy is respecting your comments and your disagreements because you are a valid human being in a world of valid human beings. You showing empathy is telling me why you disagree without reverting to personal attacks.
OK Let's start with Asha - although it's not first in time, it's the most real world of all the informations that go together.
Asha India: Transforming lives in the slums of Delhi
There is so much I could say that would be repeating what's on the website - so go read that. I'll summarise it for those who don't want to go read (although I hope that you will go read later when you make time for it).
Asha works in ways I haven't seen much in charities - they work at
(1)empowering the slum residents to make changes in their environment for themselves. They work on peacemaking with the corrupt Slum mafia, Slumlords and apathetic government officials - so that they can work together to improve conditions rather than be in conflict.
This is the act of empathetic action towards those in power - not the ones you would expect to need empathy. And yet, if you find the points in common, the humanity of those who are oppressing and re-connect them with it then you have a real chance at improvement without violence.
This part of their work really dove-tails in with the RSA Animate you-tube that I watched today.
Click to viewThis is definitely worth a watch - 10:29, and it coalesced my thoughts that have been going on in my head. It's animated, so that it illustrates what the guy is talking about. And makes so much sense to me. It talks about the movement of the abolition of slavery, as a movement that started within the oppressors, by making the public aware what it feels like to be a slave. As the movement developed it became a political movement and Wilbur Wilberforce and his political party found their way through to eventually getting it abolished. Amazing Grace - the movie The film is worthwhile - there is a lot of empathic relationships here to observe. And also the way that they finally are able to get the bills passed is a wonderfully YES! moment.
Back to Asha -
(2) They work in the health area. They train the people of the slums to recognise and heal themselves, and bring the fight for health by educating the slum dwellers so that they know what to look for, and know what they can do. They've set up health centres with doctors and nurses for the things they can't do themselves. This keeps on with the empowerment - if you send a doctor into the slums, and they treat whatever they find in front of them - they end up treating the same things that a first-aid box, and decent health education could treat for a majority of the time. It's not a useful way to use the doctor - and it's not going to spread health throughout the slums for even those who will never the see the doctor. But train people to treat diarrhoea, provide first aid, teach about nutrition and basic health behaviour - and the lessons and the empowerment encourage people to treat themselves with respect - to look after themselves in a way that they were not aware of, but had the ability to do so and never knew.
Empathy towards ourselves... there is something that we don't think we need. After all, we know how we feel and we respect ourselves enough to treat ourselves well? After all, we look after ourselves to our highest standard of care... don't we?
Here's an anti-smoking ad that illustrates how much that just isn't true. This one is a lot shorter - 1:34 but powerful, very powerful.
Every time we do something that is bad for us, just for the pleasure of it we stop empathising with ourselves. And this makes me go away and think about how I'm showing a lack of empathy for myself - after all do I not want to be the best me I can be? Which is going back to introspection as a result of outrospection - they go hand-in-hand I believe - intelligent and useful action occurs when we think about the problem rather than just jump to doing the first action we can find. But true empathy always ends in action - towards others, towards ourself, towards our environment.
Back to Asha again:
(3) Education - they work with education issues - because if you don't have the options how can you better yourself and the environment around you? One of their projects is to get slum kids through education to university so that they are equipped to do what they can. Not just with the educational obstacles, but with the personal and financial issues as well. This is the one that made me tear up at Church. I understand about not fitting in from my own experience (although I am sure that my experience is pale in comparison to theirs). Having support to fit in at Uni, to be able to experience life at Uni and enjoy the comradeship of others as they learn is something that is hugely important and helps them keep their hunger for learning and making their world a better place.
Dr. Kiran Marten who is the founder of Asha, told us of her dream of giving slum kids the opportunities to go to Uni, and how she thought that it would be not be able to rolled out in her lifetime with all the obstacles that there were. And how this year 700 slum kids went to Uni. SEVEN HUNDRED. She was tearing up, I was tearing up. That's 700 people who have the opportunities, the tenacity and the ability to learn. To stand up against govt obstacles, family obstacles and environment obstacles and make their lives and the lives of their family and neighbours better. Education doesn't change opinions - but it changes opportunities - and with active empathy, the opinions of those around them are changed. Powerful, Empowering action. I'm tearing up again as I think about it.
So we've got the work of people like GetUp!, Avaaz, etc. The movement towards empowering the people on the ground who don't think they have the ability to change the world around them to something that is better. It's a movement of activating people's empathy into action - even if that action is just signing or creating a petition to be given to government figures. They've made enough noise, that they're being seen as a force to be reckoned with. It's been called Slactivism, but I think that's a misnomer. Because what is the alternative? Before these online movements - people saw what was on the media and took it for truth or some version of truth. They had no way of knowing what the media ignored, so the opportunities for empathy were limited to what the media decided was interesting enough to be talked about. What they do is help to wake up the empathy for others in the disenfranchised majority, to give them the opportunity to feel empathy and act on it - rather than to view sensationalised media versions that disempower - because if it's really that bad, what can I one person do to help?
So finally we get to Christmas. And Christmas today in the world for the non-religious, is all about what we can buy for ourselves and our loved ones, to stuff ourselves silly, get presents, sing carols together in large parks (in Australia), and celebrate a guy called Santa who's current incarnation was invented by Coca Cola in the early 20th Century (1900+) - a consumer advertisement of a guy who doesn't exist.
Which leads me to Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia. You know who he is if you've ever heard the Christmas Carol - Good King Wenceslas.
Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia 907 - 935
He was legend had it, a fellow who EVERY night not just the feast of Stephen, went out and delivered alms to the poor, himself - not delegated. He had empathy for the poor, he went out barefoot - he experienced what they had to deal with, and he was generous to them.
Regardless of whether he did this or not, his legend is one that demonstrates empathic action.
The feast of Stephen is actually itself important. Stephen was the guy who was stoned to death for being a Christian and preaching - and chose to forgive the people who were killing him IN THE ACT. Not afterwards - which lets face it - would have been impossible. I'll talk at a later date about what I think forgiveness is, and why it's essential although not necessarily as immediate as Stephen did it. Stephen's words were 'Lord, don't blame them for what they have done' (Contemporary English Version). Acts 7:54 - 8:2. Stephen was showing empathy as well. A different kind of empathy.
Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even;
Brightly shone the moon that night, tho' the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight, gath'ring winter fuel.
"Hither, page, and stand by me, if thou know'st it, telling,
Yonder peasant, who is he? Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence, underneath the mountain;
Right against the forest fence, by Saint Agnes' fountain. "
"Bring me flesh, and bring me wine, bring me pine logs hither:
Thou and I shall see him dine, when we bear them thither. "
Page and monarch, forth they went, forth they went together;
Through the rude wind's wild lament and the bitter weather.
"Sire, the night is darker now, and the wind blows stronger;
Fails my heart, I know not how; I can go no longer. "
"Mark my footsteps, good my page. Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter's rage freeze thy blood less coldly. "
In his master's steps he trod, where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing.
So maybe this Christmas - rather than it being about the presents I'm going to get, and the presents I'm going to give to my family and friends - this year I'm going to see what I can do about giving to those in need. To empathise with the both the people who clearly need my empathy - the poor, the sick, the orphan and the widow - and those that I forget - myself and the oppressors.
If I truly believe that all people are deserving of respect, regardless of their race, colour, creed, religion, sexual identity, or deeds - then that means they deserve empathy.
As a Christian, the second part of the Great Commandment - Love my neighbour as myself - means I can't get out of doing any of this. I MUST learn to love my neighbour AND myself.
I'll talk/think about love later.
Do I think that Empathy, Forgiveness, Love is the solely owned by Christians? Not at all. All humans have a capacity for empathy and a drive to exercise that empathy if given opportunity, encouragement and empowerment. Our similarities outweigh our differences.
Please feel free to comment, and even to disagree. Me showing empathy is respecting your comments and your disagreements because you are a valid human being in a world of valid human beings. You showing empathy is telling me why you disagree without reverting to personal attacks.