This Week's Messier Moments: November 13
Hate dies when people listen to one another
There’s too much hate in the world. As the war in Israel/Palestine rages, antisemitism and Islamophobia are surging. We aren’t promising world peace here, but it seems like a fair assumption that people who are good at listening and empathizing harbor less hate. And this is one place creativity shines: its a gymnasium for empathy. A series of recent studies published in the Creativity Research Journal “suggest that the process of creating a mental representation of someone else’s mind could be a crucial yet overlooked component that contributes significantly to the way we experience and engage in empathetic responses.”
So, for a few empathy reps, here are our Messier Moments for the week:
Interview a loved one: Write a list of 10 questions. Interview someone – a partner, a parent, a child, a friend.
Interview an elder: Take the same list of questions. Interview someone from an older generation who you might not speak with frequently.
Explain away: Imagine someone said something rude to you, or cut you off in traffic. Write down a list of 20 reasons they did the offending behavior, other than “they are a bad person.”
We’re always eager to hear how it’s going! Don’t be shy, let us know at hello@messier.co.
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”
– Albert Einstein