The Heartbeat of Connection
Compassion, the natural evolution of empathy, is the heart in action.
A few years ago, anĀ educational publisher got in touch with me to contribute to an empathy care package for educators. When we met I shared that, while empathy is vital, my north star is ultimately compassion and Iād want to find a way for that to be part of the resources created. I ended up writing a short piece articulating the three types of empathy identified by Daniel Goleman and Paul Ekman:
Compassion, the natural evolution of empathy, is the heart in action. It goes beyond empathy, involving the ability to hold suffering with tenderness and engage in thoughtful action to alleviate it.
Compassion, for me, is an expression of grace, love, and interbeing. I believe Iāve been called to explore tenderness, because it's the magic link between empathy and compassion.Ā Tenderness can be a bridge between empathy and compassion.
Please check out the upcoming events and soul nourishing content below! May this month bring you great love, tenderness and joy.
Ā Ā 
A GUIDED MEDITATION FOR YOU
As an offering from my heart to yours this month is a short guided "Just Like Me" meditation, a transformative practice that can help us cultivate empathy as a launchpad for compassion. TheĀ "Just Like Me" meditation spotlights our shared humanity and encourages us to see others as fundamentally connected to us, breaking down barriers and creating a foundation for a more compassionate world
JUST LIKE ME GUIDED MEDITATION
VIRTUAL EVENT
Join me, Linda Lantieri and Christa Tinari of the Garrison Institute on Feb 15th for a discussion on Building Inner and Collective Resilience. We will explore how to sustain ourselves amidst the challenges we face and uncover how practices rooted in neuroscience can empower us to build robust emotional, social, and spiritual capacities. Let's build resilience, heal together, and pave the way for a more compassionate future.
LEARN MORE OR REGISTER
DO YOUR LESSONS LOVE YOUR STUDENTS?
In this powerful new book, Jessa Brie Moreno and Mariah Rankine-Landers reveal how artistic research and creative inquiry across subject areas and grades can help you access your learnersā collective wisdom and potential. Even the title,Ā Do Your Lessons LOVE Your Students? will stop you in your tracks. I LOVE so much about this book including:
- Their writing on "art as love."
- The Core Four: Power, Narrative, Lineage, and Embodiment.
- Countless resources that will cultivate a liberatory lens in classrooms and school.Ā
TEDX TALK UPDATE
Thank you for your support - it has been incredible in spreading the message that tenderness is the heartbeat of connection!
With a grateful heart, I'm pleased to share:
- My TEDx talk (below) ranked as theĀ fourth most-watched TEDx talk globally for January 2024!
- A few insights from my talk on Tenderness in this short article onĀ LinkedIn.Ā
- TheĀ survey is still open, get your free guide and contribute to this important work.
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