The Golden or the Platinum Rule?
#13 | 30/5/23
“The great power of empathy is that it is the cornerstone of healthy relationships… without empathy, we are emotionally tone deaf.”
Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
There’s ancient wisdom in the Golden Rule.
It’s said to underpin a plethora of religions and it is echoed by parents around the world when dealing with quarrelling siblings… it’s also been ‘upgraded’ by our friends at Reboot The Future to include the planet.
With an additional dose of empathy, there’s another ‘upgrade’ on the ancient wisdom to make it a platinum rule
Platinum Rule: Do unto others as they would want to be done to them.
In an age of increased self-absorption, the practice of empathy can really help us navigate and learn more about moving beyond ourselves and into understanding others.
Dig Deeper: see beneath’s Empathy Exercise about how to teach this wisdom to self absorbed children.
We’re looking forward to running more immersive workshops with schools next term including Canford, Brentwood, Kent College and Saint Olaves
Sadly, our friends and partners at Small Projects Istanbul have had to close their operations. Here’s a couple of special projects that we cherished running with them:
Festival entrance bracelets for Livestock festival &
School parents who commissioned Syrian ladies to make bracelets for their summer festival event following running some sharing empathy exercises with their students.
Some photos from our Small Projects Istanbul partnership over the years
What we are watching, listening, reading, attending…
Ahead of World Refugee Day (June 20th) and with the recent news of our lovely partners (friends!) in Istanbul who’ve had to close operations we feature our ‘Friendship from Syria’ bracelet that features in Desperate Journeys, but has also been used at festivals, gatherings, birthday parties and helped celebrate friendships. Thanks SPI!
ps- these are great to send, with a short message using the Empathy Store’s messaging service, to a friend!
Other reads, clips, podcasts, events, films from around the team
Inside the mind of a climate change scientist, Corinne Le Quéré gives a fascinating insight into the science and the response to the science around climate change… we loved her optimism at the end.
An Epidemic of Isolation and Loneliness from the US General Surgeon looks at solutions that include building a culture of connection (as highlighted by our friend Dr Claire Yorke aka The Empathy Doctor)
Ever heard of the deeds of Padma Shri Jadev ‘Molai’? If not, check out his 35 year mission to address the challenges of reforestation in his area.
BBC’s Inside Science (on BBC Sounds) is providing us with some great insights into today’s science… We love it!
Rainforest in the UK? It’s there and it about to be tripled with the help from an ex UK Army Veteran. Great name too (taking onboard ‘cathedral thinking’) “Ten Thousand Year Trust!.
The golden rule applied to ‘How I talk to my teenagers about mental health’ - by our friend Sandy Glanfield
Humility counts! HBR reviews the servant leadership model and prioritises soft skills, like humility.
Speaking of our friends at Reboot The Future… we met Veena Balakrishnan last year at one of their events. Veena is the co-founder of the Youth Negotiator’s Academy and our new Trustee Laura Cook interviews Veena here in her blog that explores intergenerational living. We really enjoyed reading some of her reflections - especially what she would say to her ancestors and to the future generations.
training your empathy muscle
A tip for handling self absorbed children
Here’s philosopher Roman Krznaric suggesting talking to children about the distinction between ‘the golden rule’ and ‘the platinum rule’ and asking them ‘is this golden rule situation or a platinum rule one?’ as a method to handling self absorption.
NOTE… Equally, wisdom for grown-ups!
5 ways to help …
… to build a culture of empathy
Volunteer - we really need a bunch of regular helpers (eg a few hours or more(!) a week or for our immersive workshops from time to time). Sign up to our ‘Behind the Scenes at Empathy Action’ fortnightly email for regular opportunities.
Share the news - please forward, share any social media posts (helping us trend is a great way of using the powerful word-of-mouth way to communicate.)
Introducing - we’d value ‘an intro’… to any potential vols, groups or people that may wish to use the gifts on the empathy store for their conferences, events or weddings & birthday parties! Possibly even a word to school or business that might like to run an immersive workshop. Word of mouth is the best!
Become an Empathy Angel - monthly investors in helping build cultures of empathy … We can’t and don’t want to do this alone!
Host a coffee morning with a table of our handicrafts to sell and invite interested people to learn more and enjoy a cuppa
Thank you!