It is unrealistic to expect compassion from others when we are abandoning ourselves. If you want to experience the power of being “grokked” by others, you first need to “grok” yourself!
The Oxford English Dictionary defines grok as “to understand intuitively or by empathy; to establish rapport with” and “to empathize or communicate sympathetically (with).”
It is gratifying for all of us to be deeply known — to be “grokked.” When we are feeling the very painful feelings of life — the loneliness, heartache, heartbreak, grief, sorrow and helplessness that result from others’ choices and from past and present life events — it is profoundly healing to know that another knows exactly what we are feeling and has deep empathy for our feelings.
by Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
