When we look at things empathically, we drop down underneath the obvious, behind the merely rational, and beneath the surface of what seems to be going on

Karla McLaren
The Language of Emotions

Sometimes I know I’ve given too much credence to the ‘obvious’ in the diet of anxiety inducing news. At such times I wish for deeper empathy – for the purveyors of the news and for me. To explore beneath the surface of what seems to be going on can be life saving. Empathy facilitates broader perspective. Desire for both empathy and perspective encourages 360° view before we narrow the focus.

Daily meditation helps create the ‘hard drive space’ for empathy to breathe free in me. Human lives rarely fit into ‘obvious’ categories. We do ourselves and our fellows disservice if we’re unwilling to empathise. But empathy is a natural gift that requires cultivating, a bit of gentle watering. Meditation channels ‘living water’, when the ground of my being becomes dry.