Tension can dissolve very quickly if we are willing to sincerely try to empathize with the truth of our partner’s feelings and perceptions.
When a deliberate decision is made both to take the time and effort to search for our own part in any given breakdown and to put ourselves aside enough to look at the issue from the other’s point of view, the possibility for understanding expands. Over time, with practice, we develop into more empathic partners. When we make the commitment to become more empathic, we begin to look for our complicity.
We begin to pay closer attention. This higher level of responsibility gives rise to less arguing, more harmony, and more closeness in the relationship. Once we realize how much is at stake in terms of the well-being of the relationship, the motivation to cultivate empathy intensifies, and we are no longer willing to settle for less. Stay tuned for 14 Ways to Cultivate Empathy in Part 2
Linda Bloom, Charlie Bloom
