The Power of Empathy

Empathy is when you make yourself truly available emotionally to someone when they need you. This video from the RSA features Dr. Brené Brown, who explains the difference between sympathy and empathy better than I ever could. You may recognize the bear as someone you know -you might also recognize the goat. And you'll certainly recognize all those folks who avoid you when you're going through a painful time, because they aren't in this video. This is actually an excerpt from a longer talk from Brown, which you can see at YouTube. (via Metafilter)