Sam Richards: A Radical Experiment in Empathy

You can view this TED Talk at: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/sam_richards_a_radical_experiment_in_empathy.html


Sam Richards' speaking style does a great job of engaging the audience. He gestures with his hands and moves around very purposefully to get his point across, especially when he is trying to get the audience to understand a particularly difficult point. He speakes very confidently and his intonation greately adds to his presentation thorugh allowing me not only to see his passion but also see his topic with a more complete perspective. While watching, I did not feel as though I were watching a presentation, but rather as though I were talking to him directly without all the fanfare. Because of all these elements in his speech, I could immediately understand and appreciate what he was trying to get across. He also waited for the audience to think several times during his presentation, instead of just plowing on without including the audience in his discussion, allowing me to understand what he was talking about while he was talking, not after he had finished.

While watching this video I was stunned by my ability to understand people that I never thought I would. It makes me wonder what might be possible when we all choose to see the good in everyone, even in our worst enimies. If we can have such empathy for others then there is nothing we cannot do.

I have found myself thinking about this TED talk many days after I finished watching it because it really does give me a perspective on the situations that I encounter every day. I find myself trying to use this excersize to greaten my ability to empathize with others. I have found that this does a great job of allowing me to appreciate who I am and how I relate to other people. It has helped me to understand others, even if I do not agree with them. It is amazing to be able to say to someone that you understand their fear and their want to fit in, despite how impossible it is to actually fit in. To understand that the person on top doesn't necesarily want to be there, because it separates them from everyone else, and yet to equally understand how the person on the very bottom feels left out as well. It has helped me to really understand the motivation that drives people to do everything in life, the good and the bad.

It has also helped me to further understand the meaning of dualities within my life and how they came to be there. When I feel overwhelmed, I am able to see that it is just part of a cycle, and that soon I will also feel productive. When I am upset, I am able to understand why I feel that way, not just react based entirely on my feelings. I am able to see the external events that lead me to feel that way, and thus overcome my feelings by distancing myself from them and looking at them more objectively, even while I am feeling them (again, dualities). This allows me to respond instead of just react, and I have found that this allows much of what I am fustrated about to become more rational, something I can respond to, not just something that influences me. I have found a deep sense of calm whenever I am able to comprend the feelings of others and myself, as if by understanding these relationships between feelings I am able to change those feelings by changing my perspective.

I have also found that this TED talk has helped me to truly understand others and the reasons they do what they do, allowing me to see the world as everyone would see it, so that I am able to make sense of the chaos of the world around me. I also find his remarks helpful when I consider the beliefs of cultures around the world. I can see why everyone would belive what they do the way that they do, and this allows me to further appreciate something that I have long believed to be true: everyone is justified in their beliefs because that is what they genuinely believe, and with that belief, reality comes into focus. I am able to comprehend on a deeper level how this belief takes form and act on it accordingly.

If this becomes something that we can all do, then the world will surely be a better place. If we can strive to  see the emotions of others and respond to them instead of just reacting based on our own feelings we would be able to come to more peacful decisions about how to live our lives, apprectating each moment for what it means and how it took shape, instead of just rushing by.