A Mindwalk toward “encounter”
This Mindwalk is different. I move beyond the words of this post whether on a screen or in your ear through the audio version of Mindwalk posts.
It moves beyond the plea to encounter to a simple exercise that opens up to the world of the other.
From Henry David Thoreau in his classic, Walden, to Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mocking Bird” we hear the reminder to enter another’s world.
Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant? Henry David Thoreau
You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
In both cases the message is to enter the world of another person.
What could be clearer!
How does one actually enter into the experience of another?
It gets harder and often times messier when we try to feel what another is feeling. We have no idea of what they are experiencing or what emotions it triggers. So often we fill in the blanks…incorrectly.
Many years ago, I discovered a wonderful video on “Empathy” from the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic. They use a technology that is actually rather simple. A kind of closed captioning! The captions express what is going on beneath the surface.
We have all seen at one point or another closed captions. It is most frequently used to assist the hearing impaired or those listening who do not know a particular language.
In this case the closed captions give us an insight into something that is very significant in this person’s life. Without the closed captions we would have no idea of this inner world, whether immense fear, pain, or joy.
A 4-minute video walks through the lobby and corridors of a hospital. The captions allow us to see what is going on in each person’s life that is not evident from just passing them by.
(There may be a one-minute political ad that can easily be skipped by clicking on the “Skip Ad” link in the lower right corner.)
A step into the world of encounter
Presuming you have viewed the video here are some things that occurred to me.
- You may be surprised when one or the other situation triggers something in you.
- Would we treat the people in the video differently in light of knowing what is on their minds and in their hearts? If so, you may have entered the world of encounter.
- So often we walk right past immediate needs without seeing the person. What would happen if, seeing other persons, we entered into their world?
PS You can replicate this example to a degree in your own life.
I suggest a simple exercise in seeing. It is a variation of sitting in a public park and looking at people as they walk by. But this time, it is an exercise in empathy. Try to imagine what is really going on beneath the surface inside those who pass by. t would start one on the path to encounter.
Well, watching the 4-minute video I had an interesting experience: it seemed to me that it went completely together with the meditation on Creation and our bad job we are doing with it, in general, reducing part of it, including the outer space, as a trash can, like Pope Francis said.
I ask myself whether after having worked so much in the past century to create our modern world we should not take a moment and think whether everything that we are doing is OK.
I refer to the fact that it’s true that “the show must go on” but this flurry of activity everywhere might create a big emptiness around people who have their family members too busy to listen, too far away in a different Country, and we are left with a lot of acquaintances but not real friends, close friends who could “read” us well and support us. Therefore, to extreme loneliness.
However, we can always find a solution, like this video teaches us by becoming aware of who passes us by.
Maybe a bit of slowdown, of meditation, of reflection, could even be taught from an early age on, in schools, almost as part of the curriculum, and by parents in the homes.