June at LRY: EMPATHY

I remember telling a friend that at times it felt hard to walk down the street and see people who were suffering. How it literally made my heart ache. I wasn't quite sure what to do with this pain. His response was "That is the way to live. You have to let your heart stay open enough to feel the suffering of others." His words comforted me. Twenty years later I still experience this heart pain, although less when I am caught up in my own egoic thought forms. The more I actually expand my heart, the more comfort and joy I feel, the more I attune to the suffering of those around me.

Empathy can be defined as the action of vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another. Another word for this is attunement. A literal tuning in. When we strengthen the discipline of yoga and meditation, we are more attuned to the subtle vibrations around us, which include emotions and energies. Sensitive beings must cultivate a strong container and resource so that this does not become too much. Yet, at the same time, we must stay open in order to stay connected.

At the Prevention Point needle exchange, where my friend volunteers, the staff sometimes wear T-shirts that say they are us on the front and we are them on the back. If our wish is for ourselves and all beings, without exception, to be free than it is imperative to remember "we are them. they are us."

with love,

emily + LRY