i feel your pain bro

tonight, i drove 12.8 miles to a little blue house and sat in a pretty back yard and listened to people talk.
it was an NVC group and i feel very energized by this kind of communication
here is the link  http://www.cnvc.org/ if you wish to learn more.
tonight i listened more than i spoke which was hard for me.
it was great fun.  it was transforming.  i learned a lot about myself.  mostly, that listening is a wonderful tool.
and the other thing i realized, is that i really love to talk and share.  I talk a lot, i have lots to share. and the good thing is that this blog can be a great outlet for that.  i can "talk" and share and people don't have to read it or people can.  it's still scary for me, putting my feelings out there, i'm just not so in touch with them and i think anything unknown breeds fear.  so i am learning about my feelings and it's fun and challenging.

i also learned the difference between these two nouns empathy and sympathy

empathy(noun):  The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

sympathy(noun):  Feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune.

non violent communication (NVC) practices empathy.  we practiced it tonight and it felt foreign to me which made me sad yet hopeful because i am now aware and trying.

i don't know if it was from a movie or what, but talking about empathy and really learning it's definition made me think of a guy; sitting, intently listening, with longish sun bleached hair, maybe smoking a joint, nodding, smiling and squinty eyed, saying slowly and meaningfully "i feel your pain bro"  i bet you he "gets" what empathy is.

i'm gonna try to feel more and think less