6-12-10 Practice Empathy as a Path to Peace...

The "Season for Peace in the Family" began on Mother's Day (May 9) and extends through Father's Day (June 20).

To honor these last few days of the 2010 "Season for Peace in the Family," we invite you to join in a family peacebuilding activity:  make a genuine effort to express empathy to each member of your immediate family between now and Father's Day.

Dan Goleman, author of Social Intelligence, highlights three types of empathy:

1.  The first is cognitive empathy.  This is the ability to understand how another thinks, to "see" his or her point of view, even though it may be very different than our own. 

2.  The second is emotional empathy.  This is the ability to feel the emotions of another while staying grounded in ourselves, leading to the experience of rapport and a wholehearted feeling of compassion.

3.  The third is empathic concern.  Built on an awareness of another's thoughts and feelings, empathic concern is the ability to take authentic action to help another when we sense a need.

Here's a 10-minute video you might find interesting that poses a critical question:  "Can we imagine extending empathy to the entire human family?"  This video highlights some important themes for all of us who care about peace.

A Father's Day Blessing

May all fathers grow in their ability to express empathy.
May they be renewed in courage and strength
to sustain lasting and loving commitments
to the well-being of their children, and
to share in the commitment to the safety and protection
of the children of the world.