“Empathy is the starting point for creating a community and taking action. It’s the impetus for creating change.” – Max Carver
We think Max Carver got it right and that if we truly care about community building and making positive changes in the world, we have to invest in learning about how to become even more empathic as empathy is at the heart of true understanding. We asked some deeply empathic leaders to share their perspectives below.
Ynes Freeman
My novel, Beautiful Serpent, Restless Embers, is an exploration into empathy. Many of us believe that empathy is simply the ability to “put ourselves into others’ shoes,” and I wanted to write a novel that delved deeper. Laurel — the main character of the book — is not your typical fantasy heroine. She is a gifted empath with the ability to feel into the hearts and minds of others with a quick brush of her fingers. Like many young empaths, Laurel is not strong, independent, or brave: she does not smolder with fierce determination, and she has very little sense of self. Her notions of “good” and “evil” often conflict with what her kingdom deems “good” and “evil,” and she is often overwhelmed by her gift. Throughout the novel, she struggles with bouts of insanity as a direct result of her ability to feel so clearly and deeply, often sensing darkness and disturbances that others are unable to pick up. Her kingdom values her only for what she can do to extract secrets from their enemies. I think so many of us in creative fields have a gift of empathy similar to Laurel’s. We have an inner yearning to express something beautiful and true, and as we progress through life, the world often makes us question ourselves and whether we have any importance, power, or agency at all. Walking the world with tenderness and sensitivity is a path less traveled, and it’s often one that we are discouraged from taking. Read more>>
Julian and Charity Crenshaw
Wow. What a great question. The conditions that made us more empathetic would have to be everything we’ve faced leading to this point in our lives. We’ve faced so many things as individuals, as a married couple and as entrepreneurs. It’s been bittersweet with more of the bitter than sweet. But when it’s sweet, boy is it ever so lovely. We thank God every day for what we’ve been through and how our love for eachother, for people and God have remained intact and stronger than ever. Even though the conditions that brought us here came with a lot of pain and heartache, it didn’t tear us apart and only kept us hungrier for what our purpose is and to help others along the way. We’ve faced a lot of challenges but one of the most challenging conditions for us as a family was almost losing our 8 month old back in September of 2022. It was at the restart of our business, since we had to take a break from a complicated pregnancy and childbirth, where we faced the hardest 4 months of our lives. We started our business in 2018 and took a break in mid year of 2021 til Charity was about 4 months postpartum in 2022. Then a few months after that our world collapsed while our business started elevating with opportunities then we had to make the hard decisions to quit several projects to focus on our little one then healing as a family after all the trauma. Read more>>
Vaughnchette “Lady V” Rudisill
I consider empathy as a gift. Empathy has taught me to check my mirror on this journey called life not for how I look but for how am I moving and existing in the world today. It forced me to look beyond my next goal, mission, or task. Empathy humanized me as a leader. I won’t misrepresent by stating I have always been empathetic because I have not. I can recall some examples of refusing to stop in all my pursuits to notice there was a person in front of me who needed me to remember that life happens to us all. What gives birth to empathy? Life Lifing! Until you lose a loved one, wait an extended amount of time for medical test results that could change your life or your loved one’s life…you won’t get it. Until you have gone through having no clue where the next meal, tank of gas, mortgage, rent, or utility payment will come from…you won’t get it. Empathy is developed when life is disrupted. Read more>>
Love Feels Best
At an early age I was exposed to the ugly effects of otherizing people and it left a lasting impression. My mother was what is classified as morbidly obese and I would see how random members of society would treat her with disdain and contempt. I noticed my father would make statements as well that would hurt her. People would point and laugh, make rude comments and provide inferior customer service as their feelings of superiority presented themselves. My first good friend growing up, Roy Lee Lee had Chinese roots. His Father, Lee Lee Lee owned and operated Lee’s Donuts in Canoga Park beside Henry Mancini’s, I’d later visit for punk concerts. My second close friend was of Japanese/Hawaiian/Caucasian ancestry. This caused me to notice the ways in which they and their people were treated differently and otherized by mass media and people in general. I noticed when I was about 11 that for some reason racist jokes and tropes about people of Asian decent were deemed acceptable and appropriate, which I found hurtful and disgusting. I suppose soldiers are trained to hate to enable them to kill. Those that survive bring these teachings home and they seep into society. Not long before I was born USA fought wars in Korea and Vietnam. When my father was a student up to today, kids are told we are likely to go to war with China. Read more>>
