No ego, no judgement

Blaise Pascal said, “All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

He’s likely right.

Of course, even while quietly staying home alone, sitting with our thoughts, every person has her or his own opinions.

And it’s those opinions, not so much our physical contact, that tend to clash.

That’s why empathy is so hard (and why it’s so needed).

Because holding space for someone’s feelings, beliefs and worldview—and really listening, without judgement, without comment, without shame—that takes patience and practice and guts.

But doing it in an honest and good-intentioned way is the only way we’re ever going to get to the crux of solving today’s problems, or tomorrow’s.

Our problems might stem from an inability to sit with our ourselves and our thoughts alone, but solving them requires something else entirely: to work through them by talking openly and honestly together.