Card: Empathy

Title of Painting: Spark

Landscape: Spirit/Intuition

Interpretation: The future of our relationships and indeed, the future of our planet rests on empathy. Empathy is the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another. Emotional self-awareness is not a skill that has been traditionally valued in our achievement-driven culture, which means that we have work to do. This card is calling you to further develop this most important skill. Listen without speaking. Receive not only the words of those around you, but also their energy and life force. Watch and be curious. Set down the many tech devices that keep us separate and really see the people, animals, and plants around you. What stories might they carry? Get curious about strangers. Notice where your assumptions land and let them go. Dig deeper. Practice vulnerability and share yourself with others. This will encourage them to do the same. Empathy is your superpower.

Deeper Resonance: This piece is a meditation on all the inner workings within the human body that we cannot see. Just as we cannot see the heart pumping in the chest, we also can’t see the trauma tucked away in the ribcage. Just as we are blind to the synapses firing within the brain, we may also be blind to the struggles, pain, or joy coursing through the nervous system. This peice reminds us to choose empathy and hold space for what we do not know.