What is for dinner? How are you doing? What is on your mind. If you are new to Street Prophets please introduce yourself below in a comment. This is an Open Thread / Coffee Hour and all topics of conversation are welcome.
For today's suggested topic lets consider Empathy Circles. (Please see my previous diaries in this series on my struggle with grassroots organizing at this link #1, #2, #3. And two additional diaries I did on Empathy Circles before I started this series: links #1 & #2)
Three weeks ago I started taking a 5 week training session to become a Empathy Circle Facilitator. This series is a personal account of my experience. Jump the fold fold for more commentary.
During my second training session I was able to practice being a Facilitator for a half hour Empathy Circle. This came in handy because when I was attending a Monday beginners Empathy Cafe the opportunity came up for me to be the facilitator for the whole two hour session.
The facilitator’s role in the circle is to welcome the attendees, explain the process, keep time, and make sure everyone’s voice is heard and no one disrespects the process.
The Empathy Circle process is simple There is speaker that talks for a set time. Usually 5 minutes. While the speaker speaks there is an active listener that speaker talks to. The other attendees are silent listeners and should not interrupt the speaker and active listener.
The speaker speaks on a topic or just speaks about anything on their mind. The speaker will pause after a few sentences to allow the active listener reflect back what the speaker has said. The speaker usually acknowledges that the listener understood them by saying, “I feel understood.”
This speaking and reflection continues until the set time runs out. Then the active listener becomes the speaker and picks a new active listener. This process rotates through the group including the facilitator until the two hours are up.
The group at the cafe I worked with started out with just the topic of how do we build a culture of empathy. A very general topic. However, one the speakers mentioned the fires burning around their home town, and the loss they felt of a favorite park they liked that was lost to the fire.
A second individual also mentioned local fires around them and worried about the destruction of the environment. When my turn came around I talked about the general idea of loss of something familiar in the environment. I told my story about my feelings when I visited the area were I grew up and found that all the tree filled hills I played in as a kid had been built over with houses. Another member of the circle talked about her dealings about artifact scavengers digging up artifacts in the area around her home.
Although the theme started out general the group zeroed in on environmental loss. This phenomenon has a name and it is called a Generative Theme. A theme built on the shared experiences of the circle members.
About halfway through the 2 hours I introduced a new word to the group, Solastalgia.
The word was coined by philosopher Glenn Albrecht in his 2003 book Solastalgia: a new concept in human health and identity. He describes it as "the homesickness you have when you are still at home" and your home environment is changing in ways you find distressing. In many cases this is in reference to global climate change, but more localized events such as volcanic eruptions, drought or destructive mining techniques can cause solastalgia as well. Differing from nostalgic distress on being absent from home, solastalgia refers to the distress specifically caused by environmental change while still in a home environment.
From Wikipedia: Solastalgia.
What was wonderful was the response I got from introducing the new word. Most everyone in the group used the word and I felt it become a common touchstone for dialog about environmental loss in our group.
This Monday Empathy Cafe is at 10 AM Pacific Standard time. And anyone can attend. It is done via Zoom so you have to have a mike, camera, and an internet connection. Here is a link to the current Empathy Circles Schedules.
Thank You,
Jonathan Gordon