Mary’s Minute
“The more you know about yourself, the more
patience you have for what you see in others.”
~
Erik Erikson
The act of empathy is a powerful lens to see
the world. When we understand how others
are feeling, we are better able to help.
A giant step in being empathetic is knowing ourselves. We
live with ourselves 24-7, and some of us having been living with ourselves for
many years! Still, how much time do we
take to think about who we are, what makes us happy, how we relate to others,
what are our strengths, what are our weaknesses?
We can get to know ourselves by allowing some
quiet time to reflect on questions and maybe time to just be. Time spent in reflection will pay off as we
learn about ourselves, and then translate that into patience with others.
For instance, if we discover that it makes us
happy when people compliment us, we will be more likely to compliment
others. When we realize that we learn better
when we are given quiet time, we are more likely to give our students the space
they need.
We are all connected. Our actions affect others, whether we like it
or not. We want to be patient with
others, and the first step to that is knowing ourselves.
Have a great week!
Mary