Blog
This blog celebrates empathy, compassion, altruism, generosity and kindness
in support of
positive, sustainable social change. It’s also meant to remind you
of our innate goodness and eternal oneness.
Thank you, Sesame Street, for always promoting empathy
I’m sure you know the alphabet song. Go, ahead, sing it in your head. Now, what about the melody for counting from one to twelve? If you grew up in the 70s like me, you know the Ladybug’s Picnic or this other Sesame Street classic. (Apologies if either tune sticks in...
Empathy, Compassion and the Golden Rule
Note: This blog includes wishful thinking. Cynics, pessimists and curmudgeons should take a pass. Malaysia’s Tioman island is known for its beautiful beaches, lush greenery and crystal clear sea waters. It’s also the resting place of a beautiful dragon princess....
Purposeful Empathy Trailblazer: A Spotlight on Wanda Bedard
Wanda is a proud grandmother and small business owner. She also rides a Kawasaki Vulcan and clocks about 5000km per year. No mid-life crisis. She simply loves the wind in her face. In the 1990s, while having breakfast with her two daughters, she felt sick to her...
Exercising (more) Empathy: A New Year’s Resolution Worth Keeping
Amy Giddon became a corporate refugee after being moved by a participatory art installation in New York city’s bustling Union station. Picture an enormous wall, covered with thousands of sticky notes, each one featuring an anonymous message, penned by everyday...
The Pressing Need for Empathy in 2021
A few days ago, I taped my final weekly episode of Purposeful Empathy with Dr. Mirella De Civita, a Clinical Psychologist and a Master Corporate Executive Coach. In this final blog of the year, I offer a couple of takeaways from our conversation, as they relate to my...
Empathy and the Great Conjunction (aka Empathy’s Role in Reconciliation – Part II)
This week boasted the biggest astrological event of our lifetimes – one that hasn’t happened in 800 years. Known as the Great Conjunction, here’s how Henry Throop, astronomer in the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington described it: “Imagine...
Empathy’s Role in Reconciliation – Part I
“Be careful not to dehumanize people you disagree with. In our self-righteousness, we can easily become the very things we dislike in others.” Marc and Angel Twenty-ish years ago, I lost my cool in a heated argument with a boyfriend. To be fair, as a budding...
Yes, (some) For-Profit Companies Can Be Empathic
Thirty thousand years ago, humans shared the planet with at least five other large-brained human species. But over millennia, sapiens evolved to make interpersonal and social connections easier, according to Stanford research psychologist Jamil Zaki. “Our testosterone...
Big Data + Gaming = More Empathy?
Two things happened in the spring of 1997. I finished my undergrad in marketing at McGill and the gaming giant Ubisoft opened an office in Montreal. They immediately posted openings and I applied for a one as a product manager – in retrospect, a total act of hubris...