November, the month to give thanks, right? Thanksgiving is a nice sentiment. As a holiday, it represents giving thanks to the earth that provided food, and to new communities between Native Americans and Pilgrims; it’s branded as kind neighbors welcoming each other. Yet, the history of the holiday is filled with complication and pain.
The awareness weeks and days devoted to November, though, have a pattern of kindness. In fact, World Kindness Day is celebrated on November 13! Additional awareness weeks/days are Anti-bullying week (Nov 12-20), Hungry and Homelessness Awareness Week (Nov 12-20), International Stress Awareness Day (Nov 2), International Day for Tolerance (Nov 16), Transgender Day of Remembrance (Nov 20), and Giving Tuesday (Nov 29).
In a world seemingly filled with cruelty and darkness, it can be hard to find the light. Both metaphorically and literally, as daylight savings also occurs this month. Where do you go when you feel hopeless? Well, you as a single person have more power than you think. You can change and impact people’s lives. That’s what therapists do every day. Therapists use empathy to connect with and help their patients to live more fulfilled lives. Brene Brown defines empathy as “connecting with people so we know we’re not alone when we’re in struggle. Empathy is a way to connect to the emotion another person is experiencing; it doesn’t require that we have experienced the same situation they are going through.” And the cool thing about acting on empathy is that it can lead to compassion. Humans experience the details of life differently, but we all live on the same scale of emotions, and we can relate to each other because of that. The more we practice empathy and kindness, the more it’s passed on between people; it spreads like a ripple in a pond. And you can be the water droplet that starts the ripple.
So how will you practice kindness and empathy this month? Will you provide a safe space and sit in discomfort with someone while they’re in pain? Will you write a letter to a loved one to tell them how much they mean to you? Will you volunteer at a local food pantry to help the hungry? Will you inform people about the severe and potentially life-threatening consequences of bullying? Will you organize a memorial for people who have lost their lives to hatred? Or will you simply show kindness and compassion to yourself? No act of kindness is too small. It all creates a ripple.
If you are curious and want to learn more about the concept of empathy, Brene Brown has a terrific video: (https://brenebrown.com/videos/?refinementList%5Btopics%5D%5B0%5D=Empathy&pagination=1 )
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