Born For Love: What I Learned

For the 4th book of the reading challenge I read Born For Love by Maia Szalavitz & Bruce Perry. The entire book is about the concept of empathy and why it's essential and endangered. Empathy means that you're capable of putting yourself in another person's shoes, treating them how you would like to be treated. Szalavitz and Perry spend a good amount of time talking about the psychological aspect of empathy and its vitality. 

My favorite expert:

"Empathy- and the kindness that it enables- is seen as though it's a health food that doesn't really taste good, something we pretend to like in hopes of encouraging better behavior in ourselves and our children. We don't act as though unselfishness could be fun or pleasant. Somehow, we won't allow ourselves to believe that helping others could be more than a grim duty. What is actually one of the greatest sources of human happiness has become a kind of consolation prize, something that even children can tell isn't really seen as being as good as getting shiny new things for ourselves." 

What I learned:
Empathy stems from infancy. I never would have thought how significant something as simple as touching could be. Mothers who simply touch their children instill sensitivity and empathy in them better than those who don't. Everyone around us has a reason for being the way they are. More often than not an individual's actions are explainable. Unfortunately, some experiences from childhood can be so profound that they have the potential to alter your adulthood. I think in those cases all we can do is love people. Everyone needs to be acknowledged. And when you think about it- moms love their kiddos no matter what. Moms always see the good in their kids. There's good things about everyone. I encourage you guys to make it a priority to find the best in those around you.