29. April 2026 – fbs (youtube)
Today our Culture Vultures cxplores empathy – and a provocative question: can it exist without action? How do we actually develop it?
I, Florence reflect on this from my own experience: If someone doesn’t do anything, what tells her they really understand what a situation means for her emotionally?
Is it in the subtle signals – a look, a pause, leaning in, holding space? Perhaps empathy lives in these moments. And yet, it is more than a feeling.
It is a choice. One we develop through emotional self-awareness, perspective-taking and exposure to difference. A choice to listen without rushing to judge, to stay curious and to sit with discomfort when someone’s experience doesn’t mirror our own.
How do you express – and perceive – empathy? Through questions, presence, action – or something else?
More about Bettina Andresen Guimarães: https://www.authenticwow.com/bettina-a-g/