From enforcement to empathy: How law enforcement has evolved through the years
When Jeff Haynes entered the law enforcement academy in 1990, empathy wasn’t a word heard often in the ranks. Officers were trained to enforce, not to understand. But as the decades unfolded, few people would witness — and shape — the transformation of policing toward compassion and victim-centered practice more closely than Haynes himself.
A different kind of power in New Zealand
When you think “politician,” what picture pops into your mind? In today’s world, regardless of party, it is likely a bald or gray-haired old man, fixated on power and money, loyal only to his corporate sponsors.
Enter Jacinda Ardern. Prime Minister of New Zealand. Elected at age 37 to lead her country. What kind of young woman could handle such a task, survive the opposition and pull her country together?
A love letter to friends across the aisle
Dear friend,
We are living in tumultuous times, and I’m writing to say I am sorry. I know I’ve done and said things that hurt you, that made you furrow your brow in confusion, wondering if you ever knew me at all. I know you’ve rolled your eyes at something politically-slanted I’ve posted on social media. To be honest, your words and posts have conjured the same reactions for me.
Kindness is a powerful force
To the Editor:
Political leaders are claiming they want to unite Americans. What they suggest is a top-down system which they can take credit for, rescuing millions of people all at one time.
Moving away from a place of fear
The passion surrounding the 2024 election was monumental, and as I observed my fellow Americans, the overarching emotion that simmered to the surface, no matter the party affiliation, was fear.
Splitting Prisms
Remember jumping rope on the playground? Two kids (usually tall ones) would swing the ropes setting the cadence of the game. We would study and memorize the rhythm as the ropes slapped the pavement creating a beat that we would attempt to replicate in our body. Then, just at the right moment: ready, set, GO we would jump in!
Flinch: Hope for empaths recovering from emotional trauma
Remember the game of bloody knuckles? You pretended to strike your friend with your fist and if they reacted with a nervous movement you shouted, “you flinched!” and then you got to punch them on the arm as their punishment? Ahh, good times! This instinctive reaction reveals a little more when we look at it under the energetic microscope and apply it to how we can change our conditioned responses to situations that bring us pain.
