The Daily G.I.F.T. from The GratiDude

Assume folks facing their worst and give them your best.

www.grateful4.org

Gratitude

Intention

First

Things

The G.I.F.T. Today

Grateful-for my bro Scotty making my day yesterday. Year 50 of our friendship coming in a few years, ha ha!

Intention-lots of empathy for the sufferers

First-move Rick meeting?

Things-Lunch plans

Morning Platitude from The GratiDude

I have said it, and we’ve all said it and thought it, and that is that we have no idea what other people are going through when we meet or see a new person in our life.

That statement serves as a reminder to not treat everyone as if they’re under the same conditions as you, or to treat them as if they are operating under normal or average conditions for a person in our society.

But what if we assume something different?

What if we assume that when we meet new people they’re going through a tremendously challenging time or that they’re experiencing a great deal of pain? How would we interact with people differently if we knew that that person we were interacting with was suffering a great deal at that very moment?

I believe most of us would slow down and try to be comforting, or soothing, or the very least gentle in whatever we were discussing or transacting upon.

This is a new thought for me and one that I’m going to apply as I move through the day today, and I encourage you to do it as well.

Yes, strangers can often sense when someone is being empathetic, as our behaviors and expressions, both verbal and nonverbal, can convey our emotional state and intentions.

Here’s a more detailed explanation:

Nonverbal cues:

Body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice can subtly communicate empathy, even to strangers. For example, leaning in, maintaining eye contact, and a soft, attentive voice can signal that you are listening and trying to understand.

Verbal cues:

Using phrases like “I can see how that must be difficult,” “I understand how you feel,” or “What can I do to help?” can also convey empathy.

Empathy as a learned behavior:

Studies have shown that even with strangers, positive experiences can lead to increased empathic brain responses.

Mirror neurons:

The brain’s “mirror neurons” play a role in our ability to experience empathy, as they fire when we observe and experience emotions, allowing us to understand and share in the feelings of others.

Emotional contagion:

Emotions can be contagious, meaning that if someone is feeling a certain way, others around them may pick up on those emotions, including empathy.

The importance of context:

The ability to sense empathy can also depend on the context of the interaction and the familiarity between individuals.

In summary: While empathy is a complex phenomenon, our behaviors and expressions, along with the role of mirror neurons and emotional contagion, can help strangers recognize when someone is being empathetic.

If we go into new conversations with new people and our consciousness knows we all have tough times regularly and some of us have difficult challenges just getting through the day every single day.