A Walk Through Empathy
Greet yourself: a small smile, a self hug, hands clasped together: embody satisfaction
Ask yourself to root down - could be feet first or seated. Your eyes might close
Check in with how you feel. This moment. Right now. Your instant.
Can you feel space behind your ears? Softer jaw muscles? Airiness around the sides of the neck?
Remind yourself to breathe - constantly breathe.
Locate apprehension - if present, address it directly: “you are not wrong, you are a reminder.”
Locate excitement - if present, address it lovingly: “eagerness is helpful, please do not overwhelm me right now.”
Breathe in and out - constantly breathe.
Rub your finger pads together and electrify your distal meeting points.
Cross your arms in front of your body. Is this better?
Are you scared? That’s okay.
Are you vibrating? Maybe in the chest - the span of your thumb to pinky if the rest of your fist sits at your sternum. Remember this place for later.
Are your eyes welling up? Let them and lean in. Trying to cry isn’t the point, the show, the showing of understanding or the showing of care. Swallow nothing but absorb everything.
Connect to your ancestral memory - this is your lens. It’s okay to use your lens to process. Use volume so low it’s hard for your mind’s eye to hear.
Do you feel the soil? The heat of the sun? Are you scared? Can you imagine being afraid, confined, exhausted and unable to do any more. No? You have work to do. Repeat 2-11. You are not superior to other peoples’ pain.
Are you vibrating? Lean in. Is it a reminder? A memory? Can you breathe and examine? Give your mind’s eye the trust to ground you in listening. Allow yourself to awaken to that which you might not have previously recognized.
Running from discomfort builds apathy - apathy is the opposite of embodied. You want embodied.
Bring your hands together. Interlace your fingers. Palm your chest and feel your heart beat. Repeat 1, 2, & 3.
Remind yourself to breathe - constantly breathe.