Circle of Trust

I want to start with this quote, “Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another and feeling with the heart of another.”

Our society tells us that happiness will come from getting the latest phone, or a bigger TV, or taking a trip to a fancy resort or getting the newest car.   These messages and influences are all about superficial things and instant gratification.  Material things are entertaining for a while but they don’t bring true happiness.  I know that when I was going through the end of the relationship with my ex-wife that we bought material things thinking that would bring happiness to a failing marriage.  We bought a pool, a fancy patio, a nice deck, took a nice expensive trip.  At the end of the day, those were just things that brought instant gratification.  In my journey of self discovery over the past several years, I have realized that the key to happiness comes from within and about relationships with others and with yourself.  Empathy allows you to form deeper relationships with others.  The ability to see something from the other persons’ perspective allows such a bond with that other person.  My mindset seems to be on how I can help because I can relate to how I would feel in that situation more than what I want to get or what I didn’t get.  It’s not about me.  Life is more meaningful when you practice being more selfless than selfish.  I currently have less money and material things than I had before the divorces but I am the happiest that I can remember.  My challenge to you is the next time that you find yourself in a situation when you could just form a judgement in your head, to stop and try and see it from the other person’s perspective.