IMAGINATION as a catalyst for COMPASSION 🌈🦋🌞

sillysassy

Hmmmmmm...... Thought experiment.

I've never heard this turn of phrase before this morning and it got me to thinking.

"...Imagination is not just the catalyst of art, it's also the catlayst of compassion. Imagination is the shortest distance between two people, two cultures, two ideologies, two EXPERIENCES."

sillysassy

My daughter recommended a book to me called Untamed by Glennon Doyle and I have been skipping around in it for a few years now. She writes these fun little chapters that are only a few pages long and its perfect for a morning coffee snippet or waiting for an airplane or any number of things.

I had never thought of imagination in this way… as opposed to creating and art etc.

A cute story within this chapter made me think about how challenging it is when we can't (or we choose not to) IMAGINE how things might be from another perspective.

IronicMaiden

A common instruction for empathy is "Put yourself in the other person's shoes" which does require imagination.

I just got a letter yesterday from a 13 year old in MA who said that reading my books had taught her empathy and made her a better person.

me2

Yeah it’s important for a surprising amount of things. Really any type of learning or practice where you are using conceptualization is utilizing your imagination.
Thats why I think a lot of “silly” imaginative practices are actually overlooked cross training opportunities as well.

lovingspoonfull

Immediate gut reaction is no. Imagination wouldn’t be what does that. Observation and discussion. Then reflection.

Imagination seems more like a projection of what you think things are, rather than opening yourself to learning what they actually are.

Most human imagination turns towards violence, or control of others, or both.

Most “compassion” that humans display is basically virtue signaling, in the form of “best wishes” and “thoughts and prayers”.

Actual compassion, and acting upon that compassion altruistically, is uncommon, and rare in my experience.

Just look at the number of volunteers in your city versus the number of people living there.

Frankly, a society as transactional as ours is has no room for compassion, which tends to quickly be exploited, mocked, or stamped out when discovered.

My easy example is that most cities in the United States have laws against giving people food, especially the homeless.

Because feeding hungry people is clearly a dangerous weakness that can harm our communities… somehow.

History is pretty clear about the whole, “people really suck” thing…

me2

Well it’s a way to test, synthesis, and hypothesize. And we never really see things completely. It’s always perceived through tools and filtered.

Geology is a good example.
To learn about plate tectonics and volcano chains, it’s necessary imagine the movement that is going on, to create your own internal visualization to understand it.
The people who originally figured it out had to be very creative in their abilities to take data and conceptualize various possibilities for what it means.

Same as empathy. You can imagine, then ask questions for feedback and re-fining, and it will never be complete, but you can get closer.

me2

I take some of this back partially lol. That is all for empathy which tends to lead towards compassion but not necessarily. Because you can have compassion without empathy as well as empathy without compassion.
Ex:
“I don’t understand what you’re going through but I care about you”

“I went through it and no one helped me so why should they get any help?”

Solaris

@WriterGF

I just got a letter yesterday from a 13 year old in MA who said that reading my books had taught her empathy and made her a better person.

That is amazing!!!! As an artist myself, I know how great that can feel. Thanks for sharing that and for making a positive difference in that person's life. It's inspiring to me.

I also agree with what @IronLemon said.

I also find it useful to just remember that there are reasons for other people's 'bad' behavior that I can't imagine at the moment, that might explain what they are actin, that would elicit compassion from me. So many people jump to anger because they have a lack of imagination, and a closed mind.

SunsetSnuggles

Untamed is an excellent book, and yes, imagination is the vehicle for empathy.

To @me2's point, I would hope most people who can empathize would naturally feel compassion, but sometimes humans inexplicably choose cruelty, it's true. The abused often grow up into abusers, which is something I will never understand.

Personally, I've seen a lot more of this:

~ Sunset Snuggles

🫂 Enthusiast 🌄 Travel Junkie 📸 Shutter Bug

Huggycatbear

Wow, out of all the actors I've missed Robin Williams so much. He did my favorite movie about afterlife,

What Dreams May Come.

Which is all about imagination.

3gcbwu0x

What @lovingspoonfull oonfull said above

sillysassy

I love this. Thank you for so much different insight and perspectives.

I agree that there is much to be learned and observed and discussed but sometimes we don’t have that immediate ability.

Maybe there is a place in our hearts where we can imagine a story that INVOLVES compassion. That gives us the opportunity to choose where we focus our creative outlet.

Hmmmmmm for example… I can imagine a story about a person who has hurt me. If they don’t have the capacity or desire to discuss or solve or delve in for clarity… then I am o my “left to my imagination” about WHY they acted a certain way.

I feel like I can choose how I look at that… but it requires imagination. I can’t get the answer from a book. Or another person. Or a power point on relationships.

I am left to my imagination in this instance….

Hmmmmm…. Thoughts and processes….