InSpiritry

“If there is any great secret to success in life,

 it is the ability to put yourself in the other person’s place

and see things from his point of view as well as your own.” Henry Ford 

As I worked on a poetry presentation this week, I realized that the the ideas I am presenting are not limited to writing — they are, in fact, InSpiritry ideas worth sharing! The workshop I have been developing is a lesson for poets about persona poems. For the uninitiated, the persona of a poem is the person speaking to the reader. In some persona poems the writer assumes an identity other than their own.  That persona can be another person, an animal, a place, even something inanimate. In a persona poem, an alternate point of view means using an intentionally different way of speaking, to become that other voice. Enough about literary technique, though; back to my original reason for this post.   

What drew me to widen my considerations about writing persona poems was my assertion that “persona poems compel us to consider how it feels to be someone else.” I actually stopped myself in the middle of writing my presentation to think about that for a while: “how it feels to be someone else.”  Of course, empathy! Empathy—a sense of caring about how another person feels;  the first step towards compassion, acceptance, forgiveness, reconciliation, concern, relationship. 

If ever there was a time we needed those things in the world, it is now. With Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day just past, we have had renewed discussions about racial divides. In Washington, American politics is proving in ever more disturbing ways that there is a angry rift in our country over our ideas for the future.  Recent reporting from Haiti has compelled us to consider the plight of strangers facing tragedy, hunger, injury and despair. Worst of all, we worry about those who solve differences in violent and destructive ways. Empathy –the ability to understand how another person feels—would go a long way towards healing our problems. 

With all that in mind, I thought I would offer as food for thought the ideas I suggested to my poet friends who are trying to write persona poems. You might try asking yourself these questions as you listen to people in your personal life or even in the news, especially those with whom you disagree. Caution: unexpected mixed emotions may result! 

• Who is speaking and what is their condition physically and emotionally?

• What does the person speaking need, want, love, hate, fear, hope for, believe?

• What are they trying to say and why do they want to say it?

• What experiences and memories have led to their opinions and ideas?

• What does their way of speaking tell you about them?

• What would you want others to know if you were them?

Each person in the world is, in fact, a persona—a character, a voice, a message, a story. While we each want our own voice to be heard, we accomplish more when we quiet our own desires and try to listen. Listening, we hear the answers to the who and what and why and how of others. Then we can open our hearts to them as part of God’s family and begin to see their experiences and even beliefs (however disturbing it is for us) as valid for them – Empathy 101!  

Best of all, empathy can lead us to reduced conflict. Whether between family members, angry teenagers, collaborating coworkers, passionate politicians or warring nations, conflict resolution is based on seeking to understand that there are other perspectives besides our own –empathy.

Thinking about empathy and persona poems might not result in the whole world coming into complete agreement, but listening with an open mind and a gentle heart could certainly go a long way toward our own personal sense of peace.

When We Practice InSpiritry, We Can Be a Blessing! 

Join the InSpiritry Conversation about this post!  How have you used Empathy?

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 at 11:50 am and is filed under America, Events & News, World, U.S., Greater Good Thinking, Holidays, Compassion, Best Self, Community, Anne McCrady, Literary, Peacework, Social Issues, InSpiration, Politics of Possibility, InSpiritry, Writing, Poetry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.